Fire Emblem: Renais Academy
by Shadowchaos1010
Summary: Eirika and her brother Ephraim are two new student at the prestigious Renais Academy. During their time in scools they'll make friends of course, but will they be able to fine people who could more then that to them? Alternate universe, as dead people willl be alive, and maybe some dramatic elements; I make no promises. -ON HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1

**Another Fic under my belt!**

**Chapter 1: Royal Class**

"Eirika; are you ready?"

Ephraim struggled with his tie for his first day at his new school. "I'm one of the best lance users in the country; yet I can't put on a simple tie?"

His friend Tana walked over and fixed it or him. "There; all done."

"Thanks, Tana."

Tana's brother, Innes, put the tie on with no difficulty. "You're sad, Ephraim."

He stuck his tongue out at him. "No need to rub it in!"

Eirika came rushing down the stairs. "Sorry for the wait!"

Fado; Ephraim and Eirika's father walked over to her. "What took you so long? You might be late for your first day."

Eirika bowed. "Sorry, father." She ran to the door where the other three waited. "Goodbye; see you later, father!"

Eirika skipped out the door, and the others followed.

"Hey!" Ephraim turned to see Franz and Forde; two of their god friends. "Good morning."

Forde patted his brother's head. "Franz here is going to be in your class."

Tana clasped her hands. "That's amazing; what about you?"

He shook his head. "I'm your gym teacher."

Innes face palmed. "My, my…"

Franz laughed. "I know; but it'll be fine!"

Forde lightly punched his brother's head. "No special treatment."

Franz sulked. "Oh…"

Tana walked ahead. "Let's get going, guys!"

* * *

"P-please, leave me alone…" A young blonde woman, dressed in a school uniform was backing away from some guys.

"C'mon, sweetie, why you running?"

"I-I'm going to be late for school…"

"Do you think we give a damn?" A rock hit one of them in the head. He turned around. "Who's there?!"

A young man with long red hair, wearing a similar uniform tossed another rock. "Leave the girl alone _now_."

One of them laughed. "Why would we listen to a runt like you?"

"Because…" He picked up a scabbard that was lying against a wall, and drew the blade. "I could have both of you dead within seconds."

They backed up. "You wouldn't dare!"

He walked closer. "Try me." They ran back, and jumped a fence, fleeing for their lives.

The young woman looked at her savior. "T-thank you…"

He sheathed the sword and turned around. "That's a uniform for the Renais Academy, right?"

She nodded. "You're a student there?"

He smirked. "I am; we might see each other again. What's your name?"

"N-Natasha Collins…"

He began walking off. "My name is Joshua Jehenna; see you later."

Natasha stared at him as he walked away. "Jehenna? No, he can't be…"

* * *

Eirika looked around the classroom anxiously as the teacher opened the door.

He was a man not much older than the class, and he had glasses on his neat blonde hair. He put the glasses on the bridge of his nose and turned to write his name on the board. "Hello, class; my name is Glen Surge; your homeroom and history teacher."

He turned to the class. "This is a very impressive class; I'm sure you've already noticed, but…"

He gestured to Ephraim. "Among our ranks, we have prince Ephraim of Renais," He looked at Eirika. "And his sister, princess Eirika." He looked at Innes and Tana, who were sitting next to each other. "Prince Innes and princess Tana of Frelia." Then over to a young man who was reading. "Prince Lyon of Grado." He looked from his book and waved to the class. "And prince Joshua of Jehenna."

Natasha looked over at him. "So I was right after all."

Glen looked over at a young man who was looking out the window. "Even though he isn't royalty; my little brother Cormag is also here."

Glen readjusted his glasses. "Now, let's get to know each other a little better."

* * *

The bell rung, and Eirika walked over to her brother. "Let's go say hi to Lyon." He nodded, and they went over to their friend. "Hello there."

He looked up from his book. "Hello; is class over?"

Eirika giggled. "You must really like that book!"

He nodded. "We have math next, right?"

Ephraim nodded. "Our math teacher is pretty young, like Glen."

Eirika skipped to the door. "Let's get going, then." The two walked to the door.

Tana went over to Cormag. "Hello, there."

He looked up from his bag. "Hi."

Tana bit her lip. "You don't like talking, do you?"

He nodded. "I prefer to be silent."

Cormag began walking to the door. "Wait." He turned to Tana. "Could you give me a tour sometime?"

Cormag snickered. "I'm new here too. We'd just get lost."

Tana grabbed his hand. "We'll talk more about that later, then; let's get going."

Cormag sighed. "Why are you so excited? This is school; not a theater." Joshua watched as the two left.

"Um, excuse me?"

Joshua turned to see Natasha. "Hello, there, Miss Collins."

Natasha blushed and looked at the ground. "Hello…"

He stood up. "What do you need?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk after school…"

Joshua smirked. "A beautiful girl such as yourself wants to go on a walk with me?"

She nodded. "And it's not because your royalty; it's just that I want to repay you for this morning." Joshua left the room, and she followed.

* * *

The girls stared at the man who was at the head of the math class.

Innes groaned and turned to Ephraim; the four of them were sitting next to each other in a square. "Why are the teachers in this school so attractive?" Ephraim shrugged.

Lyon, who sat next to Ephraim looked up from his book. "Three of them; Glen, him, and Forde; our gym teacher."

Ephraim nodded. "I hope that's it."

The man turned from the board, which read 'Seth Simmons'. "As you can see, my name is Seth Simmons. Nice to meet you all." The girls practically melted, and the guys in the class were either groaning, or giving Seth dirty looks.

Cormag sighed. "Quit being babies! It doesn't matter if the girls are all gaga over him! It won't last too long!"

Seth laughed. "You're a smart guy, Cormag; I'm sure it won't be too long before I'm just a teacher to you."

Tana smiled at Cormag. "Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno; jealously kinda pisses me off, I guess."

Seth pulled out a large textbook. "Before I begin; I want to tell you that I'm free on Wednesdays and Fridays if you'd like to stay afterschool for some help."

Most of the girls groaned. Tana sighed. "I guess that means a lot of the girls are good at math."

Eirika looked out the window. "I'm not."

Innes chuckled. "That means you'll get some alone time with our knight over there."

Eirika blushed. "It'll just be for work; nothing else!"

Lyon noticed a boy at the head of the class. "Odd; why is there a child here?"

Ephraim chuckled. "I've heard of him. There are three kids who were lucky enough to get into the academy; he must be one of 'em."

Eirika looked at the boy. "He seems so young…"

* * *

The bell rung after what seemed to be an endless class for some people, and the group headed for their respective locker rooms to dress for gym. The small boy joined them.

Innes approached him while he was putting on his shirt. "Just who are you?"

Another boy came running over. "Ewan; what's taking so long?" Innes turned to the other boy.

Ewan looked at Innes and bowed. "Sorry, sir. I'm Ewan, and this is Ross."

Ross bowed as well. "Hello; our friend Amelia is with us as well. She's with the girls, of course."

Innes stroked his chin. "Ewan, Ross, and Amelia; all three of these apparent genius' are in my gym class…" Innes left the boys to get ready while he went to the gym itself.

"Forde, got things set on your side?" Forde turned to Kyle, his friend and partner. The two spilt the group into two separate classes.

"I'm set!" Kyle cleared his throat.

"Very well; for our first activity; we'll splitting up into teams; so we'll be mixing our classes."

**First chapter done. Somewhat of a cliffhanger.**


	2. Chapter 2

**No comment; enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: Appointment**

"We have the final match of our little tournament!" Kyle looked at the eight people remaining. Ephraim, Innes, Eirika and Tana on one side. While on the other there was Joshua, Cormag, Franz, and Ross. "You know the rules; your training weapons are fragile; so the team whose weapons have all broke loses." Forde blew a whistle, and they rushed.

Innes was given a sword, for there were no bows for him. "Ephraim, get Cormag!" Innes went for Franz, who blocked the strike. Ephraim ran to Cormag, who jumped out of the way of the oncoming thrust.

Cormag laughed. "I never thought I'd get the chance to beat a royal."

Ephraim laughed as well. "Don't get cocky, Cormag." Cormag swung his lance, and hit Ephraim in the stomach. Ephraim thrusted, hitting Cormag in the stomach as well. Meanwhile, Tana rushed at Joshua, who dodged her strikes with ease.

Eirika on the other hand, stared at Ross. "So, you're… eleven, right?"

"I'm thirteen!"

Eirika nodded. "I see… how did you get into this school?"

Ross stomped. "That doesn't matter! We have something to do!" Eirika swung her sword, knocking Ross' axe out of his hand.

Forde blew the whistle. "Ross is out!" The boy trudged over to his friends who were sitting in the bleachers.

Amelia giggled. "How are you Ross?"

"Horrible."

She hugged him. "You'll get better; you didn't see it coming."

Ewan patted his back. "Yeah, let's get back to the action." Ephraim and Cormag thrusted once more; destroying both of their lances.

Forde once again blew the whistle. "Cormag and Ephraim are out!"

Innes looked over at his friend. Franz went to strike. But Innes parried and broke the sword. "Sit your ass down, bro."

Franz stared at his brother in disbelief. "Am I not important enough for the whistle?"

Joshua chuckled. "You're better than that."

Tana, along with Iness and Eirika surrounded Joshua. "It's three against one." Joshua jumped on Innes' head when he and Eirika thrust, breaking their swords. While in the air, he threw his sword, and knocked Tan's away.

Forde blew the whistle. "In one fell swoop, Joshua takes out three of his opponents and wins it for his team."

Kyle laughed. "I'd expect no more; Jehennans are famous for their speed." Joshua put his sword away and went to the locker room.

Kyle turned to the group. "You'd better get changed! You don't wanna be late for your next class!"

* * *

"I'm starting to be fine with such attractive teachers." Innes, along with most of the guys were staring at the science teacher.

Ephraim sighed. "I swear, none of these people are older than 25…"

Lyon nodded. "It's odd."

The teacher, Selena read from one of the books. "Who here woud like to tell me what our world's spells are fueled with?"

Lyon raised his hand, and Selena called on him. "The element Mana is what fuels our magic; Mana is split into elements. To elaborate; there is darkness and light mana, then fire, wind, thunder, and so on for Anima magic."

Selena smiled. "Good job, Lyon; that's correct."

Lyon sat down and went back to his book.

* * *

"Hey, Eirika; you wanna get something to eat?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, I was going to make an appointment with Seth for Wednesday." Tana giggled, and Eirika blushed. "I already told you that it would be for work only!"

Tana gave her a devious smile. "Are you sure?"

Ephraim walked over. "I wouldn't pry; it'll make things awkward."

Eirika picked up her bag and ran out of the room. Ephraim sighed. "I'm a bit worried."

Tana patted his back. "It's alright; no need to worry."

"I hope so."

* * *

"Wednesday, then?" Eirika nodded in response to Seth's question. He grinned. "Okay, then; I never imagined that I'd have the princess ask for personal help like that."

Eirika blushed faintly. "I'm terrible at math."

Seth put a hand on his hip and raised a brow. "Why not ask your brother?"

Eirika sat at one of the desks. "Brother spars too much to have time for tutoring."

Seth sighed. "You're a princess; you could just hire a scholar or something."

She puffed her cheeks. "Why do you keep contradicting my reason?"

He shrugged. "Pay me for the help, and you've got a deal." Eirika stuck her tongue out at him and threw a pencil, causing Seth to laugh. "I've blocked arrows going… much, much faster than that."

Eirika tilted her head. "Arrow?"

He put it back on her desk. "I'm a complicated guy. See you in a few days." Seth left the room.

Eirika looked out the window, people walking away from the school below. "Maybe I hope to get something other than help in math after all…"

"You head over heels for him too?" She turned to see Cormag standing behind her.

"No; wait, who are you?"

Cormag rolled his eyes. "Weren't you paying attention earlier? I'm Cormag Surge; Glen's little brother. Your friend Tana wanted me to get you."

Eirika stood and bowed. "Thank you; Cormag, I hope we can become good friends."

Cormag scoffed and blushed slightly. "Whatever; just get going."

Eirika went to the door and turned around. "Y'know, Tana's single; if you play your cards right, you might get lucky."

Cormag's blush deepened. "Thanks for the info, I guess…"

Eirika ran to the entrance, and found Tana and Ephraim waiting for her.

Tana ran over. "How'd it go?" "Fine."

Ephraim looked at a nearby tree; Innes was chasing Ross, who had stolen one of his books, while Ewan and Amelia watched. "You can see that Innes is screwing around with the kids. We'd best get going; he'll be back… eventually." The three of them left the school and headed for the house they were staying in for the time.

Amelia watched as they left. "I can't believe that so many royals are in our school…"

Ewan followed her gaze. "Yeah; it's kinda crazy. You've always wanted to serve under royalty, right?"

Amelia nodded. "More specifically, a member of the royal guard."

Ewan turned to the boy being chased by Innes. "You have the chance to become good friends with quite a bit of 'em."

Amelia smiled. "I know." She stood and walked near the two. She held a foot out, and Ross tripped over it; causing him to drop the book.

Innes went over to Amelia. "Thank you." He picked up his book and waved as he left.

Ross picked himself off the ground. "I have high hopes for this year!"

Amelia nodded. "Me, too; I'm really going to enjoy it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Relationship development. Various events go on… afterschool.**

**Chapter 3: Afterschool**

"Come on, open the door." Eirika whispered to herself while she stood outside of the door to the math room. "Why am I so nervous?" She shook her head, and opened the door. "Seth?"

He looked up from a book and smiled. "You're here."

She went over and sat next to him. "I'm ready."

Seth marked his page, and fetched a textbook. "Let's begin."

* * *

"You're a Myrmidon, right?"

Joshua looked over at Natasha. "Yeah; the things I've heard about Myrmidons and Swordmasters fascinate me."

Natasha looked at the scabbard he held. "You like to fight on your own, right?"

Joshua nodded. "Although; having a cleric by my side might make things easier."

Natasha blushed. "I-I'm a cleric…"

He laughed. "I know that well; you're very sweet."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you heal that child yesterday."

Natasha nodded. "I can't stand seeing people suffer."

"You have a big heart."

"T-thank you…"

Joshua looked up towards the sky. "You're from Grado, right?"

"I am. Why do you ask?"

"I find it a bit odd how the school is in Renais, but people from every country can join."

Natasha followed his gaze; she saw two young wyverns flying around. "Those playing Wyverns got you think, right?"

Joshua sighed. "I wonder what it's like to fly. I'd try to find someone who could help, but I have a big fear of heights."

Natasha giggled. "Really? You're fine with a bunch of people rushing at you with weapons, but standing on a tall structure freaks you out?"

Joshua blushed. "My fear is understandable! I've never really left the ground!"

"That doesn't really make sense. You make it sound like you never jumped, never been carried..."

"Wyverns are native to Grado; so you must have some experience with flying."

Natasha nodded. "I might be able to help you with your fear."

"Tell me more, then."

* * *

"You dragged me off to a bar, because…?"

Innes dragged Ephraim through the doors of a local bar. "Simple; you need a girl."

Ephraim rolled his eyes. "Really? You drag me off to a bar to find me a woman? You're single too. This is some crazy plan that will lead to one of us getting laid, isn't it?"

Lyon, who was also dragged, although not like Ephraim, followed. "Three princes in a bar; yeah, it might me." They sat down, and waited to be served.

"Watch it!" They turned to see a young man yelling at a young woman. The man had short blue hair, and the woman had long purple hair, tied into a ponytail.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Get over it."

"How; you poured your drink all over my damn head!"

"It's not like I kicked you in the crotch; although I doubt you'd feel it, there's probably nothing down there." He was about to swing his fist, but the young woman who was with him stopped him; she had short purple hair.

"Colm, please calm down."

"Let go of me, Neimi!" The woman laughed.

The man who was sitting at her table walked in front of her. "Marissa, I think it's time to go."

She gaped. "We just got here, Gerik!"

He grabbed her hand. "You almost got into a fight. Now come on. Tethys, you too." The other woman sitting got up. Marissa stuck her tongue out at Colm as she left, and he did the same.

Ephraim kept his eyes on Marissa as she left. As she passed him, she glanced at him, and for a second or two, their eyes met.

Innes smirked. "Ephraim, you were checking out that Marissa girl weren't you?"

Ephraim blushed and shook his head. "No, I wasn't! I was just…"

Lyon saw three girls looking over at them and talking to each other. "Hey, Innes, you plan might actually work."

One of them walked over and bowed. "Hello, there, um… just why are people like you at a little bar like this?"

Ephraim rested his head on his palm. "Innes concocted some crazy ass plan to get us all laid." The girl giggled.

Lyon got up from his seat. "If you'd like, you can sit here." She blushed, and bowed. "T-thanks you…" She sat down.

Lyon stood next to her. "I noticed you talking to your friends."

She nodded. "We were wondering why you were here." She gasped. "I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Adrianna, sorry for forgetting."

Ephraim looked over at Colm, who still seemed a bit mad; Neimi trying to calm him down. "Just who are they? They seem familiar…"

* * *

"You got it now?"

Eirika nodded. "I understand, thank you." They both reached for a pencil, and their hands touched, causing them to blush.

Seth retracted his. "Sorry about that."

She shook her head and took the pencil. "It's alright."

Seth watched as she quickly did her work. "Y'know, there should be a dance soon; you think there's someone you wanna ask?"

Eirika blushed again. "Um, well… c-can the teachers…"

Seth nodded. "Of course; Glen, Kyle, Forde, and I are all like 20, we still wanna go to these."

Eirika smiled some. "Okay, thank you…"

"You know Forde well, right?"

She nodded. "But I won't be asking him."

Seth laughed. "Okay, then; the lesson is over, so you can-"

"Can I stay a bit longer?"

Seth shrugged. "Dunno; why?"

Eirika began fidgeting with her fingers. "I'm not really good at dancing…"

Seth laughed again. "As royalty, aren't you supposed to know how to dance?"

"Kinda; but I never really…"

Seth took one of her hands. "So you wanna practice?" She shyly nodded. "Okay then, let's go down to the auditorium; we should be able to find a source of music." Eirika picked up her bag and followed Seth out.

Glen had stayed behind to go over some paperwork, and Cormag stayed with him.

"You can go now."

Cormag shook his head. "I'm staying until you're done."

Glen groaned. "Isn't there something else for you to do?"

Cormag noticed Seth and Eirika walking, then nodded. "I just found something," He picked up his bag. "See you at home." He rushed out, and shadowed the two until they reached the auditorium.

Seth approached a radio, and turned it to ballroom dance music.

Cormag grinned. "Interesting; Seth and Eirika dancing." As the two danced,Cormag took out a sketch pad and began drawing the two. "They seem good together. But I wonder; why would they be dancing?" After they finished, Cormag chuckled. "Hey, guys!"

They turned, and once they saw him they quickly let go of each other. "C-Cormag!"

He ran over to them. "What was that about?"

The two blushed and turned away. Seth was the one to speak. "Y-Y'see, Eirika was asking me if I could help her practice her dancing…"

Cormag smirked. "A princess that doesn't know how to dance? You're lying."

Eirika grabbed her bag and rushed to the door. Seth sighed. "I was just helping out; nothing else."

Cormag turned to leave. "Very well; see you later, teach."

Seth shook his head. "Damn; I enjoyed that more than I thought I would; but why?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Another afterschool chapter.**

**Chapter 4: Dance Hype**

Ephraim opened the door to the house and went straight the couch. Eirika, Innes, Tana, and Lyon walked in behind him.

Fado looked out from the kitchen. "Hello there! How was school?"

Innes leaned against the wall. "Two of the people we saw at the bar yesterday are in our class."

Ephraim looked away from the T.V. "That, and there's a dance next Friday."

Fado laughed. "Really? Have you and your sister found anyone?"

Ephraim shook his head. "Although, I think Eirika has someone in mind."

Tana giggled. "I noticed that both Seth and Eirika turned down everyone that asked; so…"

Eirika blushed. "Seth and I aren't going together!"

Innes smirked and raised a brow. "Do you hope to go with him?"

"U-um…"

Lyon patted her shoulder. "Don't mind them."

Ephraim snorted. "Lyon, you pretend to comfort her, but we know you want to ask her."

He threw a pillow at Ephraim. "I don't like her!"

Fado flicked his son's forehead. "Enough teasing your sister."

He turned to her. "Just who is this man?"

"Seth Simmons…"

Fado laughed. "Simmons? It's been years since I've heard that name!"

Eirika tilted her head. "You know him?"

Fado nodded. "His father, anyway. I'd like to meet him next Saturday."

The five of them were all shocked. Lyon sweat dropped. "M-meet him?" Fado nodded.

Ephraim nervously chuckled. "Father, what do you have in mind?"

Fado shook his head. "You've the wrong idea. Your mother is coming to visit that day, and-"

Eirika leapt of the couch. "Mother is coming?!"

Ephraim laughed. "It's been so long since we've seen her."

Tana sat next to him. "How come she hasn't been here?"

"She travels around."

Lyon smiled nervously. "And how will she react to Seth?"

Innes sweat dropped. Gods. She'll probably start talking about wedding plans…"

Ephraim nodded. "He's right, she just might do that."

Eirika hung her head down. "This is making me uncomfortable…"

Lyon cleared his throat. "Okay, then… Tana, who do you plan to ask?" She blushed. "Um, I was going to see if Cormag wanted to go." Innes smirked.

"You have a crush on our history teacher's brother?"

She shook her head. "N-no! I want to go as friends!"

Eirika giggled. "Good luck, then! If he says yes?"

Tana's blush deepened. "Um, well… I'm not sure…"

Eirika grabbed her friend's hands. "I'll help you!"

Innes shook his head. "I've no interest in this; but I'm still going."

Ephraim nodded. "I'm with him."

Lyon chuckled. "Really? If you can bring anyone…?"

Ephraim blushed. "I told you already; I was_ not_ checking her out! I'll admit that she was really cute, but…"

Eirika grabbed Ephraim's hand. "I'll help you look for her!"

She dragged him out the door, and Fado waved to them. "My daughter is going drive Ephraim crazy one day…"

* * *

"What do you know about her?"

"Her name is Marissa, she was with a man named Gerik, and a woman named Tethys."

"They're Jehannan mercs." The two turned to see Joshua leaning against a building.

Eirika ran over to him. "Really; do you know where we could find them?"

Ephraim grabbed his sister. "He said they were mercenaries; they're probably gone."

Joshua shook his head. "They're in town."

Eirika wretched her hand from Ephraim. "Where?"

"Look for Ewan; Tethys is his older sister."

Eirika smiled. "Thanks." She looked around. "Aren't you usually with a blonde? Natasha, right?"

He nodded. "She was busy today, so I'm alone." Joshua looked at Ephraim. "Wait, lemme guess; you're looking for Marissa because you wanna ask her to the dance, right?"

Eirika giggled, and Ephraim cringed. "That's not it at all!"

Joshua turned to leave. "People that don't go to the school are still allowed to come; so if that was your plan, you still have a chance."

Eirika grabbed Ephraim once again. "C'mon, let's go find them!"

* * *

"You're looking for my sister?"Ephraim was off in the distance, tapping his foot.

Eirika shook her head. "We're looking for her friend, Marissa." Ewan nodded, and closed the door.

Eirika stood there for a few minutes before the door opened again, this time by the target. "You were looking for me?"

Eirika bowed. "Yes, we were. My name is Eirika Renais, and my brother Ephraim is over there. He wanted to ask you something." Marissa looked at Ephraim who hadn't noticed her.

She walked towards him, and tapped his shoulder. "Hello."

He jumped and turned. "Ah, h-hello!" He blushed faintly and cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you. You name is Marissa, correct?"

She nodded. "You sister said you wanted to ask me something."

"Yes, there's a dance going on at our school next Friday, and I was wondering if you'd go with me…"

Marissa smirked. "Of course; I'd love to."

Ephraim shyly smiled. "Thank you."

"Let's talk more tomorrow; the café at 4:00, alright?"

He nodded. "I'll see you then."

She went back to the house, and Eirika approached him. "Now was that hard?"

"It was easy; but my heart; it's beating really fast…"

Eirika squealed. "You know what that means?!"

His blushed deepened and he shook his head. "No, I find her as a new friend and that's it."

Eirika frowned. "You love ruining my fun, don't you?"

Ephraim nodded and walked away, his sister pursuing him.

* * *

"Lyon, you of all people are going to ask out some chick you met at a bar?"

Lyon looked at Innes. "What else am I going to do?" He pulled out his phone, and a piece of paper, which had Adrianna's phone number on it. He dialed, and took a deep breath.

_"Hello?" _

"Ah, Adrianna, hello."

_"Is that you, Lyon?" _

"Y-yeah…"

_"Do you need something?" _

"Um, there's a dance going on at my school next Friday, and, um…"

_"I've been thinking about going myself. I'd be happy to be your date." _

Lyon blushed. "Thank you; do you go to the academy?"

_"I do." _

"We should talk more about it during lunch tomorrow, okay?"

_"Of course, I'll be waiting." _

Lyon hung up and smiled. "This is going to be nice."


	5. Chapter 5

**More Relationship Development**

**Chapter 5: The Date**

It was the day after the dance; Ephraim was sitting on bed, reading.

"A double date? How exciting." He looked up to see a woman with long blue hair, wearing a blue green dress.

"Mother, hello."

She walked over and sat on his bed. "How are you, son?"

"Fine; and it's not a double date, Lyon and I are going to give Marissa and Adrianna a tour of town."

She looked over and saw black jeans (chain attached) and a black short sleeved shirt with a red skull of it hanging on his door. "If you say so…"

"Olivia, let's get going!"

She stood. "Your father and I are going to meet Seth; we'll be back later."

Ephraim laughed. "We'll probably be gone be the time you get back." He got dressed, and heard a knock at the door. "It's wide open."

Lyon laughed. He was wearing blue jeans, and a green striped button up shirt, a black coat over it. "Are you ready?"

Ephraim picked up his wallet, and smiled. "I am now."

Lyon raised a brow. "You're bring your wallet because…?"

"If the girls want us to take them shopping?"

Lyon sighed. "You're right; I'll be right back." Lyon rushed to hi room and came back with his wallet as well.

* * *

"Good morning, guys!" Adrianna waved from the café table she and Marissa were sitting at. The two sat across from the girls. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Marissa thought for a moment. "How 'bout we go on a little shopping spree?"

Ephraim chuckled. "I knew this would happen!"

Marissa turned to Adrianna. "How much should we make our boys spend on us?"

Adrianna blushed. "What do you mean by 'our boys'?"

Ephraim sighed. "If you're trying to call us your boyfriends; you are _way_ off, VV!"

Marissa scowled at him. "VV?"

"Violet hair; I turned that into VV."

"Blue."

Ephraim scoffed. "Yeah. Use my hair color as a nickname, too."

Joshua, Natasha, Neimi, and Colm walked over. Joshua pulled out a chair and sat down. "How are you guys?"

Marissa smirked. "Blue and Lyon are taking us shopping."

Colm raised a brow. "Really? Shopping? You do know what's gonna happen, right?"

Ephraim nodded. "I have a solution; you're limited to 50,000 gold each."

Marissa frowned. "That's it?"

Joshua glared at her. "What's with you?! 50,000 is usually more than some people make in a lifetime!"

Natasha patted his shoulder. "Joshua, no need to get angry."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. But I mean… that's…"

Marissa sulked. "Sorry, that's true…"

Ephraim glared at Joshua. "Don't you guys have something better to do?!"

He got up and turned to leave. "Alright then, we'll go." The others followed him.

Ephraim put an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry about that."

She shook her head. "It's alright; I was being a bit selfish, asking you to spend so much of _your_ money on things I don't need…"

Lyon stood, and Adrianna did the same. "We're going; see you later?"

Ephraim nodded. "See you two." They walked away, leaving Ephraim and Marissa. "You wanna go for a walk?" She nodded. Ephraim stood up and held out a hand. She took it, and he assisted her up.

"Can we stop by the orphanage?"

Ephraim nodded. "Of course we can."

* * *

They walked to the orphanage, and Marissa went over to some kids. "Hey, guys!"

They ran over to her. "Marissa, hey!"

Ephraim smiled. "You're popular with kids."

She looked back at him. "I guess."

One of the girls pulled on her sleeve. "Isn't that the prince of Renais?" She nodded. The girl giggled. "Is he your boyfriend, Marissa?"

She blushed. "We're just friends! Right, Blue?"

"Yeah, VV."

One of the boys frowned. "That stinks; I want you to get a boyfriend!"

Marissa turned away from the children. "Guys, please!" They apologized. "It's okay."

She walked over to Ephraim. "The orphanage is kinda tight on money."

He nodded. "I'll take care of it, I'll be back in a bit."

He walked off, and the same girl ran over to her. "Are you sure you two are just friends?"

"Y-yeah, just friends. We barely know each other anyway."

"You seem sad."

She looked down at the girl. "It's okay, Sheena, I'm fine."

The boy walked over. "I'm going to play with the others."

Sheena hugged him. "Bye, Walter!"

He chuckled and left. "You like Walter a lot, huh?"

Sheena blushed. "Walter is like a brother! Of course I like him!"

Marissa grinned. "He's a year older than you, Sheena. You probably have a crush on him."

Sheena shook her head. "I do not!"

Marissa noticed that Ephraim had come back into the room. "I donated your 50,000 to the orphanage." He said.

Marissa hugged him. "Thanks!"

He blushed and returned the hug. "You're welcome."

Sheena giggled. "You two seem cute together!"

They let go of each other. "I think we should get going, Blue."

"Yeah, let's get going, VV." He took her hand and led her out of the orphanage. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Sheena waving.

* * *

"This is a beautiful place…" Ephraim had taken her to a pond near the edge of town.

"My mother used to take me and Eirika here when we were kids."

Marissa sat at the edge. "Is your mother…"

He sat next to her. "Yes, she's alive. Yours?"

"I don't like talking about it."

"I'm sorry for bring it up."

"No worries." She leaned over the edge. "Is there any special significance to this pond?"

He shrugged. "Mother never mentioned anything to me."

Marissa noticed a deer across the way. "How do you feel about… murder?"

Ephraim looked at her. "Why do you ask?"

She sat down again. "Just curios."

"Well, let's see… a person that murders without batting an eyelash sickens me. Although, I'm in that boat, so don't have much space to talk."

Marissa nodded. "So am I; being a mercenary means being ready to kill without regret, I hate killing, but it's kill or be killed."

Ephraim hung his head down. "We try to bring peace, but there will always be people that don't understand, and they'll just screw everything up again."

Marissa looked at the deer. "You… you're going to try to change that, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I want you to help me."

She blushed. "Alright, but only as a friend; not a queen or anything, right?"

He laughed. "Maybe; I just have to make sure Innes doesn't swipe you."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Lyon becomes a man**

It has been about a week since the 'date'. Ephraim and Marissa have been spending a lot of time together. It led to their little groups becoming friends, but also led to suspicion of them being a couple. In fact, Ephraim has to meet Marissa at a café for another of their meetings. Ephraim rushed out of class when the final bell rung. "Can't be late!" He rushed to the end of the hall, where he bumped into someone. Ephraim picked himself up off the ground and walked over to her. "Sorry."

He held out a hand, and she took it. "It's okay."

She dusted herself off, and Ephraim stared at her. "Have we met before?"

She nodded. "Kinda; I was at the bar that day. My name is L'Arachel."

Ephraim raised a brow. "You're the heir of Rausten, right? What were you doing at a bar?"

"I should be asking you that."

"Whatever." He ran off, and L'Arachel shadowed him.

* * *

"Hey, Blue."

Ephraim sat at a table with Marissa near a café. "I'm sorry for being a bit late."

"It's alright…" She saw L'Arachel walk behind him. "Who's your friend?"

He looked behind him. "Oh, L'Arachel, you followed me?"

She sat down as well. "I did, sorry."

He shook his head. "No worries; the more the merrier." _"I'm real glad she's here; I want Marissa to stay my friend, but I'd try to change that. With her here, I won't do it." _

Marissa leaned her head on her hands. "So, when did you two meet?"

Ephraim blushed. "What are you implying?"

Marissa chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?"

L'Arachel blushed faintly. "We just met; we're new friends, that's it."

Ephraim's phone rang. "Talk to me."

_"You have to share man." _

"What the hell are you going on about, Innes?"

_"You have two girls with you; you share." _

"Where are you?"

_"The table next to you."_

Ephraim looked at the table across from him. Innes, Lyon, and Adrianna were sitting there. Ephraim chuckled. "You got problems."

Innes scoffed and stood. "It's natural! You have to choose!"

Lyon flicked him. "Don't give it away, you fool." He sat down.

Ephraim sighed. "L'Arachel; my friends Lyon and Innes…"

L'Arachel had alright gone over to them. "So that's where you've been; hanging out with Lyon."

Adrianna blushed. "I know, but…"

L'Arachel patted her friend's back. "Looks like your plan worked, sorta."

Lyon chuckled. "Lemme guess: Adrianna made up a plan to get you all some guys."

Adrianna nodded. "The same as Innes."

Ephraim looked at Marissa. "We're alone now."

Marissa nodded. "Just as we intended."

Ephraim called a waitress over. Once she went to get the food. They continued to talk. "So, how have you been?"

Marissa sighed. "I think that Ross and Ewan's friendship is beginning to crumble."

"What do you mean?"

"I think they might start fighting over Amelia."

Ephraim put one of his hands on hers. "Don't worry; things will be alright."

She blushed. "Thanks, Blue."

He blushed and retracted his hand. "It's alright; VV… are you… single?"

"I am, why?"

His blush deepened. "Um, well…"

Marissa laughed. "Why would it matter to you if I had a boyfriend?"

Ephraim cleared his throat. "No real reason…"

The food soon came. "I say we introduce L'Arachel to the others after this."

Marissa nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

* * *

"Another royal?" Seth and Glen were with the others.

"Why are you two here again?" Colm asked.

Glen raised a brow. "We can't hang out with you guys?"

Cormag sighed. "You have things to do; a girl to screw, maybe?"

Glen snorted. "Why do you think I always have girls that want me?"

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Maybe because most of the girls in school swoon over you?"

"They're sixteen, you think I'd go-"

L'Arachel cleared her throat. "Okay, everyone; I think we should avoid speaking of those things…"

Seth nodded. "She's right."

Natasha giggled. "Seth how come you're here?"

"Glen already answered that question."

Neimi shook her head. "I think Eirika is the reason."

The two blushed. "You know it's not like that!"

Eirika nodded. "We're only friends!"

Seth nodded. "Our relationship is completely platonic."

Fado thought for a moment. "You know what? I think it's about time our boy Lyon becomes a man."

Lyon froze. "W-what do you mean by that? I'm not ready to lose my virginity!"

Fado shook his head. "I don't mean that!"

Lyon looked at Ephraim. "Then what does he mean?" E

phraim pressed his index and middle fingers against his temple. "It's kinda a family tradition that a boy becomes a man when he… goes to a strip club for the first time…"

Lyon shook his head. "I'm not in this family, though!"

Colm smirked. "Aren't we all family?"

Innes beamed. "Then this boy is ready to become a man!"

Fado laughed. "That's the spirit!"

Ephraim sweat dropped. "Father, that isn't spirit… that's just Innes being Innes."

Fado shook his head. "Doesn't matter what it is!"

Seth and Joshua stepped back. "We're staying." Eirika and Natasha backed up next to them.

Olivia laughed. "You four aren't up to it?"

The guys nodded.

"I'm staying because they are." Eirika said. Natasha nodded in agreement.

Fado walked over to the door. "Okay, let's get going, shall we?"

Ephraim was the last to go; as he left, he whispered, "Help me."

Eirika smiled at him and waved.

Seth turned to Joshua. "You two over there, and we stay here."

Joshua took Natasha's hand and led her to the Ephraim's room. "There we go; we all have our privacy."

Natasha sat on the bed. "How come you didn't want to join them?"

Joshua chuckled. "You think that I'd want to go to a place like that?"

Natasha shrugged. "Maybe; you are a guy, right?"

Joshua sat next to her. "I'm not like Innes, so I'm not all into that stuff."

She giggled. "That makes sense. Joshua, just how did you end up in Renais?"

He sighed. "I don't like talking about that. If you don't mind, will you tell me your story?"

"I came here looking to learn new things."

"You stay by yourself?"

She nodded. "It gets lonely sometimes."

Joshua put an arm around her. "Does hanging with us fill the void a bit?"

She blushed. "Well, mostly you…"

He chuckled. "Don't you…"

"What?"

He shook his head. "It might make you remember some bad things…"

Natasha let out a small gasp. "I understand; my family is all alive, so don't worry."

He smiled. "That's good."

"My father seems worried though; his little girl all by herself in such a big place."

Joshua snickered. "That's a good father; I'd be a nervous wreck!"

Natasha giggled. "You don't seem like a guy that would worry about his children like that."

"You're right, I'd probablt be more of a guy that would care only if my daughter got pregnant at like 14, or if my son knocked up his girlfriend at that age."

"What would you do?"

"The guy would be lucky to see another day."

Natasha giggled again. "If it was my boy, you'd be lucky to get to him."

Joshua scowled. "I doubt your son would try to screw my daughter…"

He blushed. "Y-you mean… o-our son?"

Natasha nodded. "You never know; it might happen."

He nervously chuckled. "Yeah, maybe…"

"Sorry for bringing it up; where did you learn to use a sword?"

* * *

"Your reason for skipping out?"

Seth looked up from a book by Eirika's nightstand. "I'm not into such perverted things."

She walked over to him. "What are you reading?"

"Just a diary."

Eirika sat on her bed. "Okay."

Seth laughed. "You're fine with me reading this?"

She nodded. "I stopped writing in it years ago, anyway…"

He frowned some. "Oh, I see."He threw it on the nightstand and sat down. "You had a lot of crushes as a kid."

She giggled. "I know; I liked a guy, he got a girlfriend, and immediately I start liking someone else."

Seth sweatdropped. "That's interesting… anyway, anyone yet for this year?"

Eirika blushed. "Yeah, but it's a secret."

Seth frowned. "What? Why? You should know that I won't tell!"

She nodded. "Yeah, but you might let it slip to Glen, then it goes to Cormag, then to Tana, to Innes, who would probably end up telling everyone."

Seth nodded. "True."

"How did your dad know mine?"

"My father fought under yours. He was one of his most trusted paladins."

Eirika tilted her head. "How come you become a teacher instead of a knight?"

He shrugged. "I dunno; I always found myself as more than a math nerd than a knight."

Eirika snickered. "A nerd; you? You're _way_ too athletic to be called a nerd!"

"What are you talking about?"

Eirika flicked him. "I saw you and Glen playing basket ball last night; you were really good!"

"Whatever. Although, I've been in a few skirmishes."

Eirika began kicking her feet. "Hey, Seth, what type of father would you be?"

Seth raised a brow. "Why the hell do you wanna know?"

Eirika shrugged. "I'm just curios."

"Why would you be curios unless it's your kids I'm fathering?"

She blushed. "Are you trying to say I want you be my baby daddy?"

He nodded. "What else would I be suggesting?"

Eirika slapped his arm. "I wouldn't want to do those things with you!"

He laughed. "Are you sure?"

She lay down, staring at the ceiling. "Seth, would you ever want to be a knight?"

Seth sighed. "I don't know."

He looked over at her. "Y'know, I can kinda see up your skirt."

Eirika sat up, face red. "You said you weren't into perverted things!"

"I'm not."

"You looked up my skirt!"

Seth shrugged. "Whatever."

Eirika got under her cover. "Now you won't see my panties."

Seth stood. "Okay, then." He walked to the door. "I'm hungry, so I'm going to go raid your fridge."

Eirika turned around in her bed. "Whatever; just don't clean it out."


	7. Chapter 7

**More characters.**

**Chapter 7: Innes' crisis**

Ephraim walked over to Innes as the bell rang. "Hey." His friend ignored him. "Innes, hello?"

"Huh? Oh, hey."

Ephraim followed his gaze and noticed that he was looking at one of the new girls, Vanessa. "Why are you looking at her?"

Innes stood up and picked up his bag. "I don't know."

Ephraim snorted. "Who knows; maybe you finally see a girl you want to actually have a relationship with."

Innes shook his head. "Hell no; I ain't gonna settle down. The heir to Frelia's throne is gonna be Tana's child."

Ephraim rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

He walked over to the two other new students. "Hello there."

The young man looked up from a book. "Oh, hello, prince Ephraim."

He nodded. "Hello… Artur, right?"

Artur stood. "Yes, nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Artur, are you ready?"

He walked over to a young woman who waited by the door. "Sorry for making you wait, Lute."

She shook her head. "It's alright, let's get going."

The two walked out and Ephraim smiled. "Artur seems familiar. Oh, well." He walked towards the locker room to get ready for gym.

* * *

"VV, why are you here?"

Marissa sat in the bleachers, waiting for things to begin. "You have a problem with me here?"

He shook his head. "I'm glad, actually."

L'Arachel walked over.

"Hello, Marissa."

"Hey, Lara."

Ephraim raised a brow. "Lara?"

"L'Arachel is too long for me."

Ephraim scoffed, and took L'Arachel's hand. "Let's go."

Forde watched as the two came back to the group. "About that…" He scratched the back of his head. "I tried to get her to leave, but she said she wasn't gonna leave without seeing Blue. You're the only guy here with blue hair, so…"

Ephraim let go of her hand. "Whatever; so what're we doing?"

"Dodge ball, so, get to your sides."

As the game went on, Innes, who is usually one of the most athletic guys in the class, who doing poorly. Ephraim turned to see his friend, but was hit by a ball as he wasn't looking. He walked over to the bleacher and sat next to Innes. "What the hell is up with you?"

Innes shook his head. "I don't know."

Ephraim looked over at the other side, and realized that Vanessa was on that side. "Dude, were you looking at Vanessa again?"

"Why would you think that?"

Marissa scooted over. "He was staring at her the entire time."

Ephraim snickered. "You're lying to yourself; you're falling for her."

Innes sighed. "That's not possible; I've never wanted to date a girl; just well…"

Marissa smiled. "You think you're incapable of falling in love?"

Innes nodded. "I know well that I'm incapable of doing so."

Forde blew his whistle. "Okay, everyone, that's time! Get to your locker rooms and off to your next class!"

Marissa hopped off the bleacher. "See you in a few minutes, Blue!" She ran off.

* * *

"You need a lab partner so…" Selena looked around the classroom. "Ah, Innes, you don't have a lab partner, right?" He nodded. "Okay, then, Vanessa, there you go."

She walked over and sat next to him. "Hello."

Innes looked at his textbook. "Hello."

Selena opened her book. "Okay, class, you will be conducting experiment 'A' from chapter 5." The class opened their books and got to work.

Ephraim had Marissa working with him. "Are you my lab partner, now?"

"I guess; wouldn't you like that, Blue?"

Ephraim snorted. "I don't know if I could trust you with chemicals."

Marissa scoffed. "Whatever."

Innes worked silently as the class went on. "Innes?"

He looked at Vanessa. "Y-yes?"

"Can you help me?"

He went over to her. "What do you need?"

"The experiment says that we are to separate these two types of mana from this stone, but how?"

He picked up a brown and green stone. "See the blue stuff?"

Vanessa picked up a beaker of blue fluid. "What do I do with this?"

"Pour it in the green beaker."

She did so, and the fluid in the beaker became translucent. "Wow…"

Innes dropped the stone in, and it began dissolving rapidly. "That's it."

Vanessa looked at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "The main point of this experiment is to figure out various mixtures that will dissolve the stones."

Vanessa went to pick up another stone. "We can use these so freely?"

"Those stones are easy to find."

Vanessa went back to work. "Innes, could you give me a tour of the school later?"

He blushed and nodded. "S-sure…"

Ephraim and Marissa smiled at him.

* * *

"This school is large." Artur and Lute followed Ephraim and Marissa through the school.

"I know."

Lute looked around. "Wasn't Innes doing something after school?"

Marissa nodded. "He's giving Vanessa a tour. I swear he's in love."

Artur laughed. "After a single day?"

Ephraim scoffed. "More like a single hour; he was gawking at her in the morning."

Marissa snickered. "He said he'd never fall in love; but look at him!"

Lute scoffed. "Why would you waste your time with this stuff?"

Artur shook his head. "Lute, my friend; there's nothing wrong with this."

"How is this not wrong?"

Marissa slapped Lute's back. "It's just good fun, Lute!"

"Why are you still here?"

Ephraim sighed. "Entirely my fault; sorry."

Marissa ran back to Ephraim. "I like hanging out with Blue! Even spending six hours without him is unbearable!"

Lute smirked. "You can't handle six hours without him? Interesting."

Marissa blushed. "I just think it's boring without him! It's not like I'm obsessed with him or anything!"

Ephraim nodded. "Right; if she was, I probably would've caught her spying on me while I take a shower."

Artur seat dropped. "W-why would she do that?"

"We went to a strip club a little while ago, and she was enjoying herself. She was more into it than most of the guys; Innes was probably the only one paying more attention than her."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "I wasn't that into it."

* * *

"How do you not get lost in this place?"

Innes looked over at Vanessa. "It's not that complicated once you get to know the place. We're not that…" Innes stopped when saw a staircase. "Dammit. I thought we were almost out!"

Vanessa giggled. "You're still not completely used to it, huh?"

Innes shook his head. "I guess not. Where are you from, anyway?"

She turned around. "I'm from Frelia."

Innes followed her. "You might get us even deeper into this damned labyrinth."

"It should be fine." Vanessa quickly found the exit. "See, We're out."

Innes scoffed. "You got lucky, is all…"

Vanessa began walking. "Thanks for the tour; I can't wait to see you again tomorrow."

Innes blushed as she left. _"Damn… it's impossible; I can't be…" _He shook his head. _"Let it go, Innes, you can't let it happen again."_


	8. Chapter 8

**Kiddie time!**

**Chapter 8: Who's girl?**

Ross and Ewan watched from under a cherry tree on a nice afternoon outside Ewan's house as Amelia watched some animals play around.

"We need to sort this out."

Ewan turned to his friend. "Sort what out?"

"Our girl issues, what else?"

Ewan rolled his eyes. "I told you, we are _not_ going to treat Amelia like a prize that has to be won."

Ross raised a brow. "Why can't we?"

"You can pretty dumb sometimes."

"Ewan, come here!"

The boy stood, and looked at Ross, who was glaring at him. "Jerk." Ewan scoffed.

"This means absolutely nothing, Ross."

He walked over and knelt next to Amelia. "What is it?"

She pointed to a red flower. "What is that?"

He picked it. "The Blood Rose. It's just as red as its titular fluid; and it's known for making people bleed with its thorns."

Amelia took a closer look. "It looks like there aren't any."

"There aren't; I don't know how, but this one is void of thorns."

He handed it to her. "Thanks." She stood and ran to Ross. "Isn't this a pretty flower, Ross?"

Ross nodded. "It's nice." He stood from his spot under the tree. "I'm going home; I'll see you too tomorrow; it's Saturday, so we can hang out all day."

Amelia nodded. "I'll see you later."

Ewan walked over to her. "I need to do a bit of shopping; go inside okay?"

He ran off, and Amelia went into the house. "Are you interested in either of them?" Tethys was standing at the window.

"You were watching?"

She nodded and walked to the couch. "So, are you?"

Amelia sat next to her. "Not really, they're just my friends."

"I see."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

"You said not really, what do you mean?" Marissa sat down on the couch. "Not really must mean you like one of them just a little bit."

Amelia shrugged. "I guess you could say I like Ross a tiny bit."

Gerik entered and sat on a table. "What do you see in that firecracker?"

"I've known him a lot longer, maybe that's it."

Tethys raised a brow. "Are you saying there's something wrong with my brother?"

Amelia shook her head. "No, no; Ewan's amazing!"

Marissa put an arm around her. "Then why is he just a friend to you?"

"U-um…"

Gerik leaned closer to her. "Our boy _must _be better than the firecracker!"

"What are you guys doing to Amelia?"

"Ewan, thank goodness you're here!"

He walked over and pulled Gerik away. "No problem."

He pried Marissa's arm from his friend's shoulder. "Where did you go?"

He held up a small bag. "Went to get us some ice cream."

Amelia tried to take the bag, but Ewan pulled it away. "Uh-uh; not yet."

"Why?" She whined.

"What do you wanna do tomorrow?"

She shrugged. "I dunno; the carnival is in town, right?" He nodded. "Can we go to that, then?"

Tethys nodded. "We'll get you some money."

Ewan handed her the bag, and she took out a Strawberry Shortcake. "My favorite! Thanks!"

Ewan chuckled. "No problem; do you want me to walk you home?" She nodded. "I'll be waiting outside." She ran out the door.

Gerik laughed. "Good job, bud; you might end up getting lucky!"

Ewan blushed. "Gerik, don't tell me you're in on this!"

Tethys nodded. "We all are; we really hope she chooses you."

Ewan shook his head and ran out. "Drop it, alright?!"

* * *

"It's a test of strength! Hit the bell and win a prize!"

Ross ran over to the man. "I'll take a try!" He handed the man some money, and then took the hammer. He swung it and within a matter of seconds, the bell's sound resounded.

The man laughed, and a large crowded stared at the boy. "For such a small boy, you certainly are strong!"

Ross handed the man the hammer, and took a large black bear. He immediately went and handed it to Amelia. "Here you are."

"Thanks! I think I'll call him Ross Jr."

She skipped away, and Ross walked over to Ewan. "You'd better hope I remember who you are by the wedding."

Ewan began walking. "So, you're going to get another and put a pink bow on it? What are you, a five year old girl?"

Ross growled and rushed after the two.

"How many jellybeans in the jar?" Ewan looked at the large jar in front of him.

Ross pushed him aside. "Let's see… I say about five thousand."

The man running the stand shook his head. "I'm sorry, you're wrong."

Amelia giggled. "Nice try, Ross; you must've been close."

Ewan shook his head. "That jar is far too large to have a measly five thousand." He walked over to it. "A jar holding five thousand would probably be one fifth the size of this, so… twenty five thousand."

The man nodded. "Bingo; what would like, little man?"

"Amelia; make your pick."

She walked over. "Um… let's see… I'm going to choose… that stuffed tiger."

He handed the feline to her and they walked off. "I think we should go get some ice cream."

"That's a great idea!" Ross said.

Ewan smiled and nodded. "Sure thing."

* * *

"Is there something wrong, you two?" Amelia looked at her friends.

Ewan shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, with me anyway; are you alright, Ross?"

"I'm peachy." He grumbled.

"Are you sure, Ross?"

"I'm fine, Amelia." She looked down at the bear and tiger sitting next to her seat.

"Ross, let's go have a little talk." The boys got up and walked away from the table. "You need to calm down."

Ross scoffed. "I am calm, man!"

"You're not acting like it."

"Whatever, let's get back to the table."

When arrived, Amelia was gone. "Odd; if Amelia was going somewhere, she'd tell us."

Ross stared at the table."Her ice cream…" The cone was on the ground. "What happened?"

Ewan looked around. "This is bad…"

A little girl ran over to them. "Excuse me, where you with the blonde girl that was sitting here?"

They nodded. "I saw a man take her away while you were gone!"

A woman came and grabbed the girl's hand. "I'm sorry; did she bother you?"

Ross ran off, but Ewan stayed. "The complete opposite; if it's not too much trouble, could you come with us for a bit?"

The girl and woman followed Ewan as he pursued Ross. "Who would do something like this anyway; what is he planning?"

"You are aware of what usually happens to girls that are whisked away by strange men, right?"

Ross shook his head. "Don't remind me! When I get my hands on that creep…"

"You don't have your axe."

Ross ran back to the girl. "What did he look like?"

"I just saw that he had blonde hair, and I think I saw a name tag."

Ewan looked around. "So, our best bet would be an employee's only area…"

"Hey, what's going on?" Tana and Cormag walked over to the group.

"Is everything alright?" Tana asked.

"Some pedophile came by and grabbed our best friend."

Cormag walked ahead of Ewan. "And they say this place is safe; how can it be safe if something like this can happen?"

Ross ran ahead. "We'll split up; call each other if we find anything!"

Tana and Cormag went off in one direction, but Ewan stayed. "Sorry to bother you; you can go now."

The woman bowed. "Thank you; I hope your friend is alright."

Ewan walked towards a stand. "Excuse me sir, but are there any Employee's only areas here?"

He nodded. "Yes, here are a few."

* * *

"Near the dunk booth… I'm real near there, thanks Ewan!"

_"No problem." _

_"Any near the petting zoo?" _

_"There are, Cormag; right behind it should be one." _

Ross hung up and ran towards the booth he was told. "C'mon, where are you?!"

He saw a door behind a wall. He saw 'Empl-'but nothing else. "That has to be it!" He ran to it.

"Let me go, please!"

"Be quiet, you brat!"

"She's in here. Ross pulled his phone out.

_"Ross?" _

_"What is it?" _

"I found her."

_"Very well." _

_"We'll be right there." _

Soon, the other three were there. Ross tried opening the door. "Locked, of course." He kicked it. "Open the door, already!"

"Ross, is that you?"

"Shut up, already!"

Cormag pushed Ross aside. "Ewan, you're able to use your spell without a tome, right?"

He nodded. "I should be able to do it, no problem."

Cormag backed up, and tackled the door, knocking it down. Ewan spotted the man, and casted fire, which knocked him into a wall.

Tana and Ross ran to Amelia. "Are you alright?"

Ewan walked over to the man he attacked.

"Cormag, get someone please."

Cormag quickly left. "Tell me, what were you doing?"

The man glared at Ewan. "Why the hell do you need to know?"

"If you refuse to cooperate; I could leave the authorities a burnt corpse to drag away."

The man cringed. "I haven't…"

Ewan kicked him. "So you resort to kidnapping a thirteen year old and trying to rape her?"

He turned to Tana. "Do I have permission to end his life?"

Tana shook her head. "No, Ewan, that's not enough."

Ross stood. "How?"

Ewan looked at him and smiled. "I doubt most of the other guys in prison will be happy to hear what he did; the beatings he'll get will be much worse."

Cormag soon returned with an officer behind him. "What happened here?"

Ross ran to the officer. "That pervert over there kidnapped our friend and tried to rape her!"

The officer walked over to him, and put on the handcuffs. "I see."

Ewan snickered. "Officer, could you make sure the other inmates in the prison hear about this?"

"Very well." He led the man out.

Tana helped Amelia off the ground. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "I-I'm fine…"

Ross ran back to her. "I'm so sorry that I let this happen."

"It's alright."

Ewan began to walk away. Ross turned to him. "Aren't you going to say something?!" Ewan simply walked away.

He left the carnival. "Of course I'm glad she's safe; but she doesn't need to hear me say that to know. 'Who's girl'… this is ridicoulous."


	9. Chapter 9

**We haven't seen this guy in a while.**

**Chapter 9: Franz and Karen's day**

Franz let out a big yawn as he woke up on Saturday morning. "Morning, Forde."

His big brother threw a pillow at him. "It's Saturday, no need to be awake for… well, there's no need to wake up."

Franz laughed. "C'mon, get up; you'll miss breakfast."

"Whatever."

"Guys, come on!"

Franz chuckled and ran downstairs. His stepsister, Karen was in the kitchen. "Morning."

"Good morning; where's Forde?"

Franz walked behind her. "Asleep. Anything I can help with?"

Karen shook her head. "I'm fine; thank for the offer."

He sat at the table. "How was your date last night?"

"The same as usual."

"I can't believe it; another one asked you out, only thinking of sex?"

She nodded. "You have some crappy taste in guys, then." She looked at the stairs to see Forde descending.

"There you are."

Franz laughed. "Didn't you say that you were getting out of bed?"

Forde sat at the table. "I said that there was no need to get up at seven in the morning."

Karen walked over with three plates. "So, you guys were going out today?"

Franz nodded. "Do you wanna come with?"

She shook her head. Franz frowned. "I don't want you to be bored, though…"

Karen smiled. "You're awfully sweet, Franz; if I went out with you, you'd actually think of something other than getting into my pants, right?"

He blushed. "O-of course I would!"

Forde raised a brow. "What about me?"

Karen rolled her eyes. "Since we're not related by blood, I know you couldn't be trusted."

"That ain't right!"

Franz looked at her. "Then I'll stay with you!"

Karen laughed. "I wouldn't want to ruin your day."

Franz shook his head. "I wouldn't mind; really!"

Forde sighed. "Okay, then; I'll go see if Kyle has anything to do…"

Forde finished his food and went upstairs. "You're fine with this?"

Franz nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Karen giggled. "You're a really good guy, Franz."

"Thanks."

"What was your father like, Franz?"

Franz looked down at his food. "Dad… he was a Great Knight working under the king."

"My mother was a cleric that worked under the king; maybe they knew each other."

Franz shrugged. "Maybe; if they did, I wonder why we never met before."

Karen sighed. "A month is how long we've been a family, right?"

"Is has been that long, huh?"

"I can't believe it; it feels like it's been a few days…"

Franz finished his food and stood. "We should get going soon; I'll wash the dishes, alright?"

Karen handed him her plate. "Thank you."

Franz went to the sink and got to work. _"Karen… ever since mom and Vern left, she's basically been taking care of us; and Forde is older by two years…" _He exhaled. _"There has to be some way for me to show my thanks… I got it!" _

* * *

Shortly after, Karen was downstairs, dressed. "Are you ready?"

Franz ran to her and grabbed her hands. "Karen, whatever you want, I'll buy it!"

Karen blinked a few times. "W-what?"

"To show my thanks for how you take care of me! I'll buy you whatever you want!"

Karen smiled. "That's really sweet of you, but-"

"I won't take no for answer! At least one thing! And it has to over ten thousand!"

Karen let out a small gasp. "T-ten thousand? I thought you were saving up for foal…"

He chuckled. "White horses are pretty cool, but, ten thousand? That's crazy; I could always save more, anyway."

Karen shook her head. "I couldn't; you've been saving for months!"

Franz put a hand on his hip. "I told you, I'm doing this to show my thanks." He pushed aside some of her blonde hair that fell in front of her eye. "I'm doing this because I want to, okay?"

Karen blushed. "O-okay, if you insist…"

"Today, I'm going to treat you like a queen, okay?"

"Franz, that's a bit too much…"

He shook his head. "It's not too much."

Franz led her outside, and to the marketplace. "Okay, remember; you're limited to only ten thousand."

Karen sweat dropped. "I don't think 'only' and ten thousand go together."

"Whatever."

Karen walked over to a jewelry store."That one looks nice, but, it's too expensive…"

Franz looked at the price tag of the stellar necklace. "Twenty thousand… looks like I'm cleaning out my bank account as well as my wallet."

Karen turned to him. "Franz, you said only ten thousand!"

"I know, but… will this make you happy?" She nodded. "Then I'm buying it for you; I just need to get the rest of my money out of my account."

"I don't want to leave you flat broke!"

"It's okay, really; just stay here."

Karen watched solemnly as Franz left. "He's doing too much…" She looked at the necklace. "I feel terrible…" She then put a hand over her chest. "Earlier, when he grabbed my hands… my heart, it began beating faster; his touch…" Her face was crimson red. "Why do I feel this way? I can't be… falling in love with him, right?" A few moments laer, a jingle snapped her back into reality; she looked up to see Franz walk out of the store with a small bag.

"Here you are, my queen."

Karen giggled, and took the bag. "Thank you."

Franz raised a brow. "Are you okay? your face is really red."

Karen covered her face. "Ah, I didn't notice! I-I'm fine!"

He took the bag back and took out the necklace. He put it on and smiled. "You look beautiful."

Karen turned away from him. "No need to say that…"

Franz took her hand. "Are you hungry? Turns out I have about five thousand more gold in my account, so I can buy us something."

Karen shook her head. "No, you said that-"

Franz waved a finger. "Uh-uh; I said _at least _ten thousand."

Karen sighed. "You're spoiling me, Franz…" He led her over to a table and sat her down. "You're even pulling my chair out for me; this is too much…"

Franz shook his head. "Nothing is too much if it's for you." He turned to leave. "I'll be right back."

She heard footsteps behind her. "Forde; why are you here?"

"Your date is going well for once."

"It's not a date!"

"Are you sure? I mean, he spent twenty thousand gold on you."

Karen pushed him away. "Just get going already; I thought you were with Kyle!"

"I am; he's taking a piss." Forde walked away, and Karen sighed.

"A date; if it was one, it is going well…" She shook her head. "No, Franz is my brother; I'm not… I'm not falling for him!" The one in question soon returned with two steaks. Karen gasped at the meal. "Steak? Franz…"

"These weren't cheap; _now _I'm broke."

Karen looked down. "I'm so sorry…"

He laughed. "It's alright; I don't mind, as long as you're happy, I am."

Karen smiled. "Thank you; you're too sweet." The two ate in silence. "Can we just go for a walk after this, Franz?"

He nodded. "I'd be happy to."

* * *

"Why were you so eager to take me out today, Franz?"

"I wanted to show my thanks; I told you that already."

"I saw Forde earlier; the big dummy called out time in the market a date."

Franz blushed. "He's crazy; a date?"

"I know; it seems really dumb that he'd bring it up."

_"I'm lying to myself, aren't I? I hope that it was a date, don't I?" _

Franz smiled. "How do you like the necklace?"

Karen turned to him, and then touched it. "It's beautiful; I'll take good care of it. You spent so much on it; if I lost it…"

Franz shook his head. "Don't worry; I'll save up until I can buy a replacement."

"What's up with you?"

He stopped. "What do you mean?"

"You- you spent all the money you had on me…"

He chuckled. "I want you to be happy; I may be broke, buy you're happy, right?"

Karen sat down. "I don't know…"

Franz sat next to her. "What do you mean?"

"I love this necklace and it makes me happy, but knowing that you have no money because of me makes me sad…"

Franz hugged her. "Just remember this; there's no need to worry about me, alright?"

She blushed fiercely. "F-Franz…" He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Karen turned from him. "Y-you… I don't deserve such a nice person in my life…"

He laughed. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed!"

Karen giggled. "Franz, I… I love being with you, I feel a lot more comfortable with you."

He blushed. "Yeah, me too. I think that we should get back." Franz took her hand and began walking back. Karen made sure not to look at him. _"Falling in love with my brother… no, I-I'm not! He's just my brother; nothing more!"_

**There's another OC, let's see… that's five now. Adrianna, Olivia, Sheena, Walter, and now Karen.**


	10. Chapter 10x

**Innes backstory; a type of chapter new to my stories, they will usually be after the main chapter, this is an exception.**

**Chapter 10x: Lost love Part 1**

Innes tossed and turned in his sleep. _"Dammit… Vanessa… she's too similar to…" _

He remembered back to four years earlier. He was standing in a garden behind the castle. "Father told me that I should be expecting someone…"

"Excuse me, are you Innes?" He turned to see a girl standing there. Her blonde hair was flowing in the wind.

He blushed and nodded. "Y-yes, I'm him."

She knelt next to him picked up a flower. "These flowers are beautiful, don't you think?"

He knelt next to her. "They are; and you are yet to introduce yourself."

"My name is Meredith Coleson; nice to meet you."

Innes stood. "My sister, Tana, she should be here…"

The girl in question ran over. "Sorry for being late!"

Meredith smiled. "It's fine; I just got here myself."

Innes scoffed. "I've been here for hours…"

They bowed. "We're sorry!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever; just who are you, anyway?"

Meredith giggled. "I'm the count's daughter."

Innes walked over to a tree. "I didn't know he was supposed to visit father." He began climbing. "No matter; these things don't concern me… yet."

Meredith walked over to him. "What do you mean? Wouldn't it be better to pay attention now?"

"I have other things to do."

Tana joined Meredith in watching Innes climb. "I think Ephraim listens in on his father's meetings."

The boy in the tree lost his grip and fell. "Damnation!" He got off the ground. "I won't let Ephraim best me!" He ran to the castle.

"Is there something wrong between him and Prince Ephraim?"

Tana shook her head. "Innes just doesn't like it when Ephraim bests him at anything."

"How come?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't mind it."

* * *

"How did it go?"

Innes walked past Meredith who stood outside the drawing room. "Fine."

"What was it about?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

"C'mon! Please?"

He snickered. "Sorry, no can do."

Meredith grabbed his hand. "If you won't tell me, I'll have to punish you!"

"How?"

"You're taking me shopping!"

"How is that… you plan on buying like, 100,000 worth of stuff don't you?" She nodded and dragged him off, into the marketplace. "Can you let me go?" Meredith released him and he sighed. "Very well, where do we start?"

She ran to a stand with a selection of fruit spread out. "Hello there, little lady."

"Hello, sir; what's your most expensive product?"

Innes sweat dropped. "You've got to be kidding me…" She dragged him to several stands, buying things that didn't make sense for someone like her, such as , Microwaves, etc. "Why won't you stop? I'm pretty sure you've reached your limit."

Meredith dragged him to a large building where children were running and playing. "Here we are."

Innes looked at the building. "An orphanage?"

"Yep, this is why I bought-" Innes glared at her. "Er… had you buy all of these things." She walked in, and Innes followed. An elderly man ran over to them. He was old, but appeared to have the body of a muscular man.

"Meredith, there you are!"

"Hello, papa."

Innes raised a brow. "Papa?"

Meredith ran next to him. "My grandfather, Gabriel."

The man laughed. "You can call me Gabe, your highness!"

Innes shook his head. "You can call me Innes, sir. H-how old are you?"

Gabe stroked his long white beard. "I'm 66, boy."

Innes snickered. "You're body says otherwise." Innes punched his stomach, but recoiled in pain. "How do you stay in such good shape?"

Gabe laughed. "I work out every day, my boy!"

"How don't you break something?"

Meredith grabbed her grandfather's hand. "Papa, I- er… Innes bought things for everyone!"

Innes sighed. "Gabe, you're granddaughter dragged me against my will to buy things."

Gabe chuckled and walked to the large bag of items. "Yes, this is good. Would you like to stay for when I give these to everyone after dinner?"

Meredith frowned. "I would, but Innes…"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't mind; I'd like to see what you eat."

Innes looked around. "Gabe, you're from the side of Meredith's family that isn't of noble blood, right?"

He nodded. "If you'd like, I'll give you a tour."

* * *

The children whispered among themselves during dinner. Gabe cleared his throat. "Kids, let's not keep secrets, especially if it involves the prince."

One of the girls shyly looked at Innes. "W-why are you here?"

He chuckled. "No need to be afraid; your friend Meredith and I bought you guys some things, and I wanted to be here when you saw them." The kids all exclaimed, and Innes chuckled again. "Nice to know that you're excited." The children scarfed down their food and ran from the table. Gabe and Meredith pursued them. Innes noticed that a girl about a year older than him had remained at the table. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine…"

He walked over to her. "You don't seem fine; what's wrong?"

"You were really okay with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Buying things for us…"

He laughed. "Of course I'm fine with it! As a prince, 100,000 is like nothing and if I'm to be king one day, I have to begin doing things for the citizens early." He held out a hand. "C'mon, the others are waiting."

She blushed faintly and took his hand. "Thanks…"

"What's your name?"

"C-cyan…"

He looked at her eyes; they were that same color. "A fitting name; it goes well with those beautiful eyes of yours."

She smiled, and her blush deepened. "Thank you…"

He led her to the room where the other children were eagerly fiddling with all of their new things. Gabe carried some upstairs, and Meredith struggling to drag a fridge up. "Let's go help."

Cyan nodded. "Okay, then."

A girl looked at the two as they got to work. "Wow, Cyan doesn't smile often, but the prince…"

**Most of the male characters are supposed to have some type of interesting back story, presented in Gaiden chapters, ala the games. I will post a poll with this chapter. Who is Innes' lost love, the noble girl Meredith; or the orphan girl Cyan?**


	11. Chapter 11

**It's been a while since I've written a chapter of this.**

**Chapter 10: Putting it behind**

Innes stood in the archery grounds of his family manor, shooting the bull's-eye of each target with ease. "Damn, the dream I had last night…"

"You had a dream about it?"

He shot on last arrow and turned to see his sister approaching. "Tana, good afternoon. I did indeed dream about it. The day we met. I have a feeling that'll happen again."

Tana walked over next to him. "You think you'll have dreams depicting the time you spent together?"

He nodded, and went back to shooting. "I told Vanessa that I'd hang out with her today, and that dream is going to make this awkward."

Tana sighed. "Don't let it get to you. Things will be just fine. Vanessa reminds me a bit of her, but they're a lot different."

He dropped the bow and retreated back into the manor. "I'm going to get ready. I'll see you in a little while."

Tana put a hand on her hip and tapped a foot. "I hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

Vanessa stood in front of the manor. "Was this a good idea?" She began sweating slightly. "Oh, what if he forgot and I'm standing out here all day?" She quickly turned. "I should just leave."

"Wait." She slowly turned to see Innes standing in the main doorway.

She nervously smiled and waved. "Ah, good afternoon Innes."

He walked over to her, a smile on his face. "I didn't expect you to be early."

"Um, well…"

He held out a hand. "C'mon, let's get going."

She blushed and took his hand. "Y-yeah, let's."

He led her to a local restaurant. They were seated in a booth far off from the others, a way of making it a V.I.P section. "I feel a bit odd." Vanessa said.

Innes cringed slightly. "W-what's wrong?"

"Nothing, really, it's just… we're so far away from everyone else."

He sighed. "I know, but, it's not that bad."

She looked sorrowfully at the others in the restaurant. "It's like we're cut off from the rest of the world, in this corner…" She felt something on her hand. She looked down, and saw Innes' hand over hers. She blushed and giggled. "Although, we are alone, this is nice…"

He blushed and withdrew his hand. "Yeah, it would suck to have others ruin our time with their chatter."

Vanessa nodded, and a waitress approached them, a smile on her face. "Good afternoon to you, Prince Innes. How are you?"

He smiled and chuckled. "Just fine. I'll take a water."

She turned to Vanessa. "I'll take the same." She told the waitress.

The waitress bowed and turned. "I'll be right back with your waters."

She scurried off, and Innes chuckled. "These people work too hard."

Vanessa tilted her head. "What do you mean? You are a prince after all, so it makes sense."

He nodded. "But still, she shouldn't be afraid that I'll have her beheaded or something if I'm not satisfied."

Vanessa sweat dropped. "Well, that seems a bit too much…"

"Exactly."

Vanessa watched the other people in the faraway booths. "I wonder what's better. Being alone like this, or being around others."

Innes snickered. "Everyone has their own preferences on if being alone or with others is better."

Vanessa giggled. "True, I suppose that was a pretty dumb thing to say."

"Nah, it was kinda understandable."

Soon, the waitress returned with their drinks. "Are you ready to order?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yes, I'll have a steak, well done."

Innes rested his elbows on the table and locked his fingers together.

"I'll take the same."

* * *

Vanessa skipped along stones that peaked out if the river. Innes waded through, his hands in his pockets. "This thing is really shallow, why are you doing that?"

Vanessa turned back to him and smiled. "This is more fun, makes it more exciting."

She continued jumping, and Innes fake coughed, causing her to fall. He walked over to her, laughing. She pouted. "Innes!"

He held out a hand. "I'm sorry about that. Are you hurt?"

She took his hand and blushed slightly. "I'm fine. Thanks for worrying."

He helped her out of the river. "You're all wet because of me. I'm really sorry."

Vanessa looked down at the dress she wore. It was indeed soaked. "Oh, it's alright, Innes."

He chuckled. "That's good."

Vanessa looked at a tree. "Innes, do you ever climb? Like, rock climbing walls?"

He followed her gaze. "I used to like climbing trees."

She smirked. "Then how about you get me that apple?"

He snickered and ran at the tree. He climbed it without difficulty, and returned with the apple in probably a minute or two. "Here you are."

She took it from him and giggled. "Thank you." He watched as she ate it, and she stopped when he noticed. "What's up?"

He blushed and turned away from her to hide it. "Oh, nothing. Just keep eating." Vanessa went back to eating her apple, while Innes went back to the river. "Interesting." He saw some fish swimming about. "I don't understand fish. They swim down waterfalls and live, but we humans won't survive that."

"I don't understand either." He glanced behind his shoulder to see Vanessa walking over to him. "Or why they are things that are weak, and things that are strong. Fish are destined to be eaten by a shark or bear because they're weak, but why are they?"

Innes reached into the river and pulled out a fish, it was squirming around in his hand. "If all things were of equal strength, then how would we get meat? Everything would be herbivores."

Vanessa looked at the fish. "What's wrong with that?"

He dropped it back in the river. "Soon, there'd be no plants, and without plants, no oxygen. Not only that, but if we are all equal in strength, wars would never end."

Vanessa knelt down, looking at the fish. "But, if we're all equal, who would think to start a war?"

Innes grabbed her collar and brought her up. "It'd be best to not risk you falling in again."

Vanessa nodded. "Sorry about that." Innes crossed the river again, and Vanessa followed. "We should return to the manor."

Vanessa hurried next to him. "Innes, I heard at school that you always turned down girls that asked you out, so why didn't you turn me down?"

He chuckled. "Something that happened a few years ago. I really need to put it behind me. I won't help if I let the past get in the way now."

Vanessa frowned slightly. "Um… do I bring back bad memories of that?"

He shrugged. "Kinda, but I don't mind."

Vanessa's frown turned to a smile. "Okay then. If you're alright with it."

He took her hand and began running. "Let's hurry, there are a lot of things in store for us at the manor."

**First time in a while. I hope I haven't lost skill.**


	12. Chapter 12

**It's been a while. **

**Chapter 11: New Friends**

Marissa stared at the window to Ephraim's class from outside the school. "I wonder what's keeping him."

"School let out early." She looked over her shoulder, and saw Joshua lying under a tree.

She walked over to him. "What happened?"

The young man shrugged. "Something came up, headmaster family emergency or something."

Marissa joined him. "Why aren't you with Natasha?"

Joshua sighed. "We don't have to hang out all the time. And you were the one standing outside the school waiting for Ephraim."

"Blue wouldn't mind."

Joshua chuckled. "How often do you two hang out? I'm surprised you aren't an item yet." He sat up. "Although, you, and a lot of others could say the same for me and Natasha."

Marissa nodded, and took out her phone. "Ones sec." She dialed a number, and waited for the answer.

_"Yes?" _

"Hi, Blue."

_"Oh, hey, VV. Sorry for not telling you school let out early." _

"It's alright, I ran into Joshua. We decided to spend the day together."

_"Ah, okay. But, uh… why?" _

Marissa giggled. "Does it matter, when you asked me to the dance, you only knew my name."

_"Crap, you have a point, there, VV. Well… have a nice time with Joshua. Behave yourself." _

"Sure thing… dad."

_"__Hey, I'm n-" _

She hung up, and turned to Joshua, who was staring at her, a look that would say 'I am not amused'. "Why did you say that? I never agreed."

Marissa stood and dragged Joshua up. "I know, but how many girls have you hung out with other than Natasha… for more than a few hours? This way, you can say you've spend an entire day with a female other than your future queen!"

Joshua tried to protest, but could not due to her constant jabber. A few minutes later he stopped, and she did as well. "May I speak?"

"Sure thing, Red."

He sighed. "Me too? What's Innes? White? And L'Arachel, Green?"

Marissa shook her head. "No, Innes is Ace, and L'Arachel is Bubbles."

Joshua groaned. "Dare I ask why? And I thought L'Arachel was Lara."

Marissa nodded. "Innes is an ace at a lot of things. L'Arachel is just really bubbly, so that's where Bubbles came from. I liked it better. Anyway, why did you stop?"

Joshua began walking again. "Doesn't matter anymore. We'll discuss your nicknames with the others later."

Marissa smirked and ran after him. "So, what do you wanna do, Red?"

Joshua thought for a moment. "Let's see… how about… we go horseback riding?"

Marissa nodded. "Sounds like a plan!" The two headed to the local stables, and soon they were both on horses. Marissa was having difficulty, but Joshua had no problems.

The latter trotted over to his companion. "How are you?"

Marissa crossed her arms and pouted. "It's not fair that you get to ride and I don't…"

Joshua got off his horse. "Maybe this one isn't too used to humans. Ride with me." Joshua helped her on and got on afterwards. "Hold on tight." She wrapped her arms around Joshua and held on tight.

The next hour of riding went smoothly, except Marissa slipped and fell a few times.

* * *

The two went to the lake near town afterwards. "Why'd you leave?"

Joshua took his eyes off the lake, and looked at Marissa. "What do you mean?"

She knelt down and trailed her fingers over the water. "You are the prince of Jehanna, which would mean you lived a life of luxury, so why leave that?"

Joshua scoffed. "I don't know, I guess I got sick of it. Wanted to see what normal people live like."

Marissa smirked slightly. "How nice of you. Wanting to give up all the royal pleasures."

Joshua knelt next to her. "Not really, I just got curios."

She stared deep into the water. "You threw it all away so easily. I'd never be able to do that." She felt something around her shoulder. "Joshua?"

"It wasn't easy doing that. I regretted doing that for gods know how long."

Marissa giggled. "That would make sense. How old were you?"

Joshua looked up at the sky. "I was ten. I feel bad for leaving my mother. I wonder… if she still thinks I'm around…"

Joshua felt something wrap around his neck and begin choking him. "Idiot, you really believe your mother would think you're dead?!" Marissa barked. She didn't loosen her grip around his neck at all.

He tried his best to let out an answer. "I… didn't… but she might… I was… just wondering…"

Marissa 'tsk'ed and let him go. He began gasping for air. "Gods!... He turned to her, still gasping. "What is wrong with you?!"

Marissa crossed her arms and smiled. "You pissed me off, simple."

Joshua smirked slightly. "Dammit… how does Ephraim deal with a dame like you?"

The girl winked at him. "That means he's more of a man, Red."

Joshua scoffed. "Whatever. You like hanging out with Ephraim so much, so how come you don't just enroll?"

Marissa scoffed as well. "I don't need an education. I'll be fine."

Joshua laughed. "Yeah right. You're a merc, right? That means you had to _learn_ how to use a sword. You were educated."

Marissa groaned. "Dammit! I didn't think of that!"

Joshua walked over to her. "If you were educated, you would have realized that. Ephraim could cover the expenses."

Marissa crossed her arms and blushed slightly, then looked at the river. "I-I don't need that!"

A devious smile appeared on Joshua face. "I understand now. You don't want Ephraim's help because," He strolled over to her. "You want your crush to think you can handle yourself?"

Marissa pouted, and her blush deepened. "I-I don't like Blue!"

Joshua snickered. "You two have hung out _every single day_ since September. It is now November 8th. So… c'mon, tell."

Marissa let down her arms and let out a large sigh. "Red… um… I kinda do, actually…"

Joshua patted her on the back. "That's good for you." He took her hand. "So… let's get going, alright?" Marissa retraced her hand. "If you tell anyone, I will kill you." He nodded. "I know."

* * *

Ephraim stared at the ceiling in his room. "Damn… What to do…?" He heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

A maid walked in. "My prince, Lady L'Arachel is here to see you."

Ephraim sat up. "A maid? …Oh, yeah, we're back in the castle." He got off the bed. "You're dismissed, she's out front, right?" she nodded, and left him. He went to his closet, and got on some casual clothes.

He then went to the castle gate, where L'Arachel waited. "Good morning."

She smiled. "Good morning, Ephraim!"

He looked around. "So… what's up?"

L'Arachel blushed faintly. "Um… I wanted to ask…" She looked at the ground. "If you'd like to… hang out with me today…"

Ephraim nodded. "Sure, I'd love to." Ephraim held out a hand. "So, where do you want to go?"

L'Arachel looked up and took it. "How about the park?"

Ephraim began leading her to their destination. Soon they were walking along a path in the park. "Ephraim?" He looked at his companion. "Do you… like someone? Or, in specific, Marissa?"

Ephraim chuckled. "No, VV is just a friend to me. We hang out a lot, but that means nothing."

L'Arachel nodded. "I see. So, you find her as a friend only."

Ephraim looked back at the road. "How come you want to know?"

L'Arachel jumped back, retching her hand from his.

_"Oh, no! Why did I say that!?" _"Uh… um…"

Ephraim shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. Let's continue."

L'Arachel shyly nodded, and followed as he went. "Ephraim, how's Eirika doing?"

He laughed. "She's gotten awfully close to Seth. But, she is close to flunking math, which is really odd…"

L'Arachel giggled. "Wow! I thought Eirika spent more time paying attention than that!"

Ephraim nodded. "True, but apparently she pays more attention to more irrelevant things."

L'Arachel sighed. "She's so lucky… having a boyfriend like Seth."

Ephraim shook his head. "It ain't official. They're just friends for now." He crossed his arms. "Which pisses me off. Why is it still like that?"

L'Arachel put her arms behind her back. "It's only the third month of the first year. Maybe that's why?"

Ephraim scoffed. "Yeah right, what kind of excuse is that? The only downside I see is having to go crazy over finding a good anniversary present more often. It shouldn't be a problem for Eirika, too."

L'Arachel nodded. "True, it shouldn't, but, still, we shouldn't pressure them."

Ephraim snorted. "I know, but it's fun."

L'Arachel pinched him. "What if people did that to you and Marissa?"

Ephraim 'tsk'ed. "Don't start, L'Arachel!"

She giggled. "Calm down, Ephraim!"

"Whatever…"

L'Arachel ran ahead to a large statue of a man. "Wow, I wonder who this is?"

"My great grandfather, King Roy."

She turned to see Ephraim behind her. "Your great grandfather?"

He nodded. "He was one of countries finest rulers. I wish I could be as good as him."

L'Arachel kept her eyes on the statue. "I'm sure that you'll be an even better ruler. You seem like someone who could run a country easily."

He chuckled, and looked up at it. "Yeah, I always listened in on my father's meeting when I was younger."

L'Arachel scoffed. "You have no reason to worry. How about we get some lunch?"

* * *

The two sat at an outdoor table of Ephraim's favorite restaurant. L'Arachel looked at the sky, which was beginning to cloud. "This isn't good…"

Ephraim shook his head. "We should be fine."

A waitress walked over to them. "Hello, there. How may I help you?"

Ephraim picked up his menu. "I'll take a steak, well done."

L'Arachel just handed her menu to her. "I'll take the same."

She took the menus and bowed. "I'll be right back with your orders, please wait."

She ran off, and Ephraim chuckled. "I can tell. She works really hard, and for little reward."

L'Arachel followed his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it."

After lunch, the waitress came back with the check. "Here you are." Ephraim handed her the amount needed, and a large tip. "Get yourself something pretty with that, hun."

The waitress stared at him, wide eyed. "My prince! Are you really…?"

He stood. "Yeah, you deserve it. Every time I'm here, I'd like you to serve me."

She nodded. "Yes, my prince!"

He waved to her and left, L'Arachel followed. "That was nice of you."

He scoffed. "It was nothing, just trying to make someone's life a little better."

**Sorry its been a while since I've written this, been kinda lazy.**


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been a while since I've written this.**

**Chapter 12: First School Trip Anticipation**

Ephraim listened intently as Glen spoke. "I have an important announcement to make. Soon, we will be going on our first school trip." The class erupted into excited murmurs. "Calm down everyone. To be specific, it'll just be us second years, not the whole school of course. Anyway, we'll be spending a week in Grado, courtesy of Lyon's father, Emperor Vigarde. We'll be spending the week learning of this great country. We leave in two weeks, on Monday."

A hand went up in the air, it was Eirika's. "Glen, will we have any free time on the trip?"

He nodded. "Of course. Monday we arrive and get settled, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we learn, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you have to yourselves." Once again, the class erupted into excited murmurs.

"Ephraim."

He looked over at Innes. "You're excited, right?"

He nodded. "Of course. It's been a while since I've been to Grado. For Lyon, he's going home, so he probably doesn't care." Ephraim stood from his desk, and walked to Glen. "Excuse me."

Glen looked at him. "Yes?"

"Will anyone else be accompanying us? A chaperone, I mean?"

Glen nodded. "Seth will be joining as well. We've been arranged a hotel for our stay, but unfortunately…"

Cormag and Tana joined behind them. "Our hotel used to be known for… um, well…"

Ephraim sweat dropped. "I understand. That's going to be awkward, though."

Tana nodded. "Good thing is, guys room with guys, and girls with girls."

Glen smirked. "Of course. Considering where we're staying, why would we let you room with one of the opposite sex? We all know what that'll lead to."

Cormag flicked his brother. "We know, you didn't have to tell us. And how come you're fine with everyone up like this?"

Glen stood from his desk. "The headmaster ordered that we inform you, then let you hang out for the rest of the period, get all the excitement out of your system."

Ephraim nodded. "Makes sense. Oh, can-"

Glen held up a hand. "Marissa is allowed to come with."

Ephraim thanked him, and walked away, and over to Lyon, Adrianna, and L'Arachel. "Hey, you guys." The girls greeted him, but Lyon simply opened a book. "Not excited?"

Lyon looked at him, a smirked on his face. "Of course not, I'm just going home."

Ephraim sighed. "True, but," He slapped Lyon's back. "You get the chance to introduce your father to his future daughter-in-law!" The two in question blushed fiercely. Ephraim looked at L'Arachel. "What do you think?"

She chuckled nervously. "I'd rather not get involved."

Ephraim scoffed. "Okay, then. What did he mean by first?"

L'Arachel sighed. "By the end of our time here, we would've gone to Frelia, Jehenna, and Rausten in addition to Grado."

Adrianna thought for a moment. "So then, the first is three months in to our second year. Three more, and two years left. I wonder if we'll get another in this year. Anyway, any ideas about what you'll do during your free time?"

He shrugged. "Most likely going to arenas, whether it be competing or watching." The four of them chatted about the trip, until the bell rang, and they headed to math.

* * *

"Hey, guys. You're all excited for this, right?" The class replied with cheery answers. "Well, I am happy to announce that I will be joining Glen and Selena in being your chaperones." This time, only the girls broke out in excited murmurs.

This continued until Seth cleared his throat. "Although, there is a piece of bad news; for some people anyway. I know that Cormag, Tana, and Ephraim are already aware, but…" He cleared his throat again. "The place we'll be lodging is located in a place called… Centrimore Boulevard."

Lyon closed his book and looked up. "Really?"

Seth nodded. "Unfortunately." Seth looked around the room, most of the student had looks of confusion plastered across their faces. "Centrimore Boulevard is known for its… very interesting hotels…"

Cormag stood. "He's basically tryin' to say that the place is full of love hotels! But, guys room with guys and girls room with girls, so don't get your hopes up!" He sat down. "There, the deed is done."

Ewan sweat dropped. "This is awkward…"

Eirika looked at him. "What is it?"

He chuckled nervously. "The trip is for second years, but because Amelia, Ross and I are in second year classes, we're going too."

Eirika sweat dropped. "R-really?"

Ewan nodded. "And unlike Ross and I, Amelia has absolutely no idea what a love hotel is."

Eirika let out a small gasp. "Wait, how do you two know?"

Ewan stood from his desk. "I've said too much. I need to go."

* * *

After school, Ephraim met up with Marissa, as usual. "Hey, Blue!"

Ephraim walked over to hey. "Hey, VV. Have you heard about the trip?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've heard people complaining about where we're staying, what's wrong with it?"

Ephraim scoffed. "Yeah, we're staying in a love hotel."

Marissa smirked deviously. "Really?"

Ephraim flicked her forehead. "Perv."

Marissa rubbed her forehead. "Do you think that I was…?"

He looked ahead. "Anyway, the guys and the girls are separated, so it wouldn't matter if you were thinking that or not."

Marissa nodded. "Alright, then, so we're going to your place, right?"

Ephraim nodded. "Don't breath a word of our lodging to my parents, alright?"

Marissa nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ross, Amelia and Ewan headed to his place. "We're home!"

Tethys waved to them. "Hey."

Ross rushed to the couch, where Gerik was sitting. "We're going on a trip in two weeks!"

Gerik smirked and raised a brow. "Really?"

Amelia nodded. "We're going to Grado."

Tethys crossed her arms and smiled. "That's good, right Ewan?"

He was frowning slightly, and he looked at his sister. "Huh? Yeah."

Tethys placed a hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "It's just that…" He scratched the back of his neck. "We're staying in a love hotel."

The color drained from Tethys' face. "A l-love hotel…?"

Amelia tilted her head. "A… love hotel? What's that?"

Tethys grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her towards the door. "There's no need for you to know, honey! I'll buy you some frozen yogurt, you like that, right?"

Amelia nodded. "Yeah, I love it!" The two of them rushed out the door, and Tethys slammed it.

Gerik raised a brow. "How come?"

Ross shrugged. "I dunno, I don't care, but I still."

Ewan sat on the other side of Gerik. "We'll be fine, unless we get roomed with a gay guy of course."

Gerik nodded. "I see, well, be sure to protect your asses while you're there, okay?" A light bulb went off in Gerik's head. "You have time off, right? Well, y-"

Ewan covered his mouth. "No, no, no!"

Ross snickered. "You could do that whenever you want. Volunteer as a chaperone, and you can try your stupid plan."

Gerik 'tsk'ed. "Maybe I will."

He stood. "Well, I'll be shopping, wanna come with?"

Ewan nodded. "Sure thing, I need to do something to forget about where we're staying."

Meanwhile, Amelia liked her frozen yogurt and smiled. "Delish!"

Tethys smiled. "True, it's really good."

Amelia turned to her. "Tethys, what's a love hotel?"

Tethys froze again. "Uh…"

She cleared her throat. "Your parents won't be happy if I told you."

Amelia puffed her cheeks. "Then I won't say anything!"

Tethys sighed. "Amelia, darling, please."

Amelia frowned. "Okay, then, I'll drop it… but… Ross and Ewan know, right?"

Tethys smiled slightly. "Sorry, Amelia, but please understand."

Amelia teared up a bit. "I still think it's unfair, but I understand." She looked at Tethys and smiled. "I'll find out someday, right?"

Tethys chuckled. "Yeah, but I have a feeling that you'd regret it afterwards."

Amelia began walking towards the house. "Maybe, but we'll never know!"

Tethys chuckled and followed her.

* * *

"A trip to Grado?"

Eirika nodded. "Yes, father. We'll be learning about the country, and we get to tour it!"

Ephraim chuckled. "To be specific, here's the plan. Monday, we get settled, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we learn, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we have free time."

Olivia smirked. "That'll be nice. It'll be a nice learning experience. Especially for you, Marissa."

Marissa crossed her arms. "What is that supposed to mean, Ma'am?!"

Olivia laughed. "You lack an education, correct?"

Marissa blushed. "U-um…"

Ephraim put a hand on her shoulder. "Y'know, if you want to enroll, I could pay for you."

Marissa's blush deepened. "T-thanks, but no thanks."

He rose a brow. "What? How come?"

Marissa shrugged. "I dunno. Just that… I wouldn't want to burden you…"

Ephraim hugged her. "Heh, what're you talking about? You aren't a burden. Besides, I'd like it more if you were enrolled. I'd get to see you more often."

Eirika gasped slightly. "F-father…!"

Fado nodded. "I know what you're thinking, but Eirika, he's just being a friend."

Olivia nodded. "He's right."

Ephraim let go of her and blushed. "Ah, sorry about that, Marissa."

She looked down. "It's okay… but you… you're calling me by my name, and not VV…"

He scratched the back of his neck. "S-sorry… I didn't mean to…"

Marissa began fidgeting with her fingers. "Um… Blue , could you help with an enrollment?"

He nodded. "Sure." He turned to Fado. "Father, we'll be in your study, okay?" He nodded. "Sure thing." He took her hand and lead her down the hall of the castle, towards Fado's study.

Eirika ran to the door. "I'll be with the others, okay?"

Olivia nodded. "Sure thing, just don't stay out too late."

Eirika nodded and left. "This is going to be an amazing trip, I can tell!"

**The next few chapters will be an arc of the trip. The facts about Grado will be created by me.**


	14. Chapter 14

**First Part of the Trip. I will be experimenting with an Ephraim POV for these.**

**Chapter 13: Grado Trip – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday**

**Monday: Afternoon**

The first day of the trip, technically. All we're doing today is settling, but it kinda counts. Anyways, here we are, at the station waiting for the train. Our group stayed in gender specific groups. Today is Marissa's first true day as a student of the academy. She's discussing the uniform with the girls, and I gotta say, she looks _really_ cute in it. Mainly the skirt, because she usually wears shorts when she's with us. I heard someone approach me, but I was too busy admiring Marissa's uniform.

"Ephraim what're staring at?" It's Innes. "Wow." I felt a slap on my back. "Welcome to the club."

What the hell is he talking about? I hear him walk away, but more steps approached.

"Dude, what're you doing?" It's Cormag this time. This time, I heard a whistle. "Damn, dude. Oi, Marissa!"

She turned around, and I snapped back into reality. "Yeah?"

I saw Cormag smirk. "Ephraim here was just staring at your ass!" Everyone, save for Innes, couldn't believe what they heard.

I panicked and began waving my hands in front of myself frantically. "No, no, it wasn't like that!"

She began stomping towards me and grabbed me by the collar. "Then what the hell was it?!"

Damn, even though she might kill me, she's still really cute. "I was just admiring your uniform, you look really cute in it! Especially the skirt. I mean, you never wear them, so…"

She let go of me and smiled slightly. "Y-you thought that I looked cute?"

I nodded. I could tell I was blushing something fierce because of how embarrassed I was. "Really cute."

She giggled, and blushed herself. "T-then maybe I could forgive you."

I bowed. "Thank you." I need to cool down. I turned away from the group and bolted. After that, I need some time alone.

* * *

**Monday: Evening**

We all stood outside the hotel we were staying in. First glance, and you'd know it was once a love hotel. Poor Lyon, he's the prince of the country, and he's stuck with us. Although, he probably chose to stay here.

"Alright kids, let's go!"

I took my eyes off the hotel, and focused on the voice. Gerik and Tethys had volunteered to be chaperones. Gerik, because apparently, he wants to uses this places past to his advantage, and Tethys because Amelia is completely oblivious to what this place i- was.

I began walking towards the hotel, and headed for my room. Outside were Innes, Colm, Joshua, and Cormag. "So, we're rooming together, huh? Well, I'm not taking the bed." The rest of them stared at me. "What?"

Colm was the one to speak. "You're royalty, yet you'd rather sleep on like, the floor?"

I nodded. "I'd rather not sleep on a heart shaped water bed that was made for people to have sex on." I put my hand on the knob. "That and-" I stopped myself before I finished the sentence. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hey, what else?" I ignored Joshua and went straight for… actually I stood there, staring in horror at the room. Mainly the huge bed.

I simply sat on the floor. "So, who's getting the bed?" I waited for someone to boldy walk over and plop their ass on the thing, but instead,

"What the hell?! Joshua, Cormag, put me down!" The next thing I knew Colm was thrown onto the bed.

"Lemme guess, you were afraid you were going to dream about Marissa, right?"

I cringed, and turned to my side and looked Innes straight in the eye. "No, I wasn't. I was…"

Innes smirked, and that pissed me off a bit. "What was it then? Admit it, you want her, don't you?"

I shook my head. "I'm not lusting after my friend, alright?"

Before Innes could speak again, the light went off. "Shut up and go to bed." I scoffed and lay down. This is going to be one hell of a trip.

* * *

**Tuesday – Morning**

We stood in front of a large academy; I'm guessing the Grado equivalent of ours. In front of us stood an old man and a young woman. The man stepped forward. "Greetings, all. I'd like to welcome you to our prestigious academy. It's a pleasure to teach you fine young brains about our country, but don't think of it as a learning experience, but a family trip!" Um… okay?

The young woman stepped forward. "Good Morning everyone! My name is Katherine Jennings." Damn, this girl is hot. The school uniform looks amazing on her. Her long blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes… I shook my head to snap myself outta the trans. "…I hope you all enjoy your time here and learn plenty about our home!" The group split up and began running. What the hell happened?

"Blue."

I looked in the direction of the voice. Marissa stood before me. "Yeah?"

Marissa looked a bit worried. "You seemed outta it, are you all right?"

I nodded. "Just zoned out, heh heh."

"Excuse me." In front of me stood Katherine. Just great.

"Y-yes?"

She handed me a stack of papers. "I'm sorry to bother you, but could you hand these out to everyone? I'm needed in a meeting with your student council."

I took the papers without any words. Katherine thanked me and walked off. I heard Marissa giggle. "Blue, you're blushing!"

I hid my face with the papers. "C-crap! I hadn't noticed!"

Marissa grabbed my hand and that worsened my condition. "It's okay, let's just get these handed out." I nodded, and she dragged me around to pass the things out.

* * *

**Tuesday – Afternoon**

I sat in a class next to Marissa, listening to one of the many lectures I'd have to listen for the next three days.

"Today, I'd like to discuss our country's native creature, the wyvern." The teacher was a woman. I'd had seen more female teachers than male on my way here. Well, I've no reason to think for now. "Grado Scientists have been studying the relationships between wyverns and dragons. So far, they've come to the conclusion of dragons mating with normal lizards, such as a komodo dragon. This would result in the offspring of the dragon and lizard resembling dragons, but as generations pass, become less and less like dragons. Moving on, wyverns are native to Grado due to the climate. Wyverns, being cold blooded, reside in warm places, such as here, due to it being the southernmost country of Magvel. Now…"

She began scanning the room. I wonder what she's doing. "Ah, you there!"

She pointed in my direction, but I heard Marissa gasp. "M-me?"

The teacher nodded, and Marissa stood. She's being asked a question, fantastic. "For what reason do Wyverns nest her in Grado?"

Even though she just said it, Marissa doesn't seem to know. She looked at the ground, and began fidgeting. I feel bad for her. "U-um… W-wyverns… t-they nest in…" Marissa was breaking down, and I couldn't take it anymore. I could barely hear her, and I was right next to her. I think she might've began tearing up, so I intervened.

I stood up, drawing attention off of her. "Wyverns nest in Grado because as cold blooded creatures, they require a warm climate, and Grado fits their requirements well because it's the southernmost country in Magvel."

The teacher smiled and nodded, which was a good sign. "Good, now, let's move on." Marissa sat down, and she seemed relieved, which made me quite happy.

* * *

**Tuesday – Evening**

I walked towards my room, but, "Blue!" I stopped, and Marissa ran next to me. "Thanks for earlier, you're a lifesaver." She looked down and began fidgeting with her fingers. She looked absolutely adorable. "I-I'm actually really shy about talking in front of a crowd of strangers like that…"

I smiled and patted her head. "I couldn't stand you looking all defenseless like that."

She looked up, her face red. She smiled at me, and I felt my own face heat up. "Thanks, Blue."

I chuckled nervously and looked away from her. "N-no problem…"

I felt her lips against my cheeks, and I froze. "See you tomorrow, Blue."

She rushed off, and I began trudging towards my room. I can't believe it. Marissa kissed me. One of the happiest days of my life.

* * *

**Wednesday – Afternoon**

More lectures, hurray… the teacher is a man this time. "Good afternoon everyone. Today, I will be discussing Gleipnir and Garm, our country's sacred twins. Garm was said to be the very axe the hero and founder of our country, Grado, used in battle. It was one of the weapons used in the battle to slay Fomortiis. The other Sacred Twin, the Dark Tome, Gleipnir, was a gift from his wife, Sheena, as a gift for returning from his struggle against the demon king. She was a Druid, which makes the gift she gave him more appropriate. These were passed down from generation to generation for the royal family to guard, along with our sacred stone, the Fire Emblem. Now, you there, blue boy." I scoffed at what he called Colm. He stood and as usual didn't care about what was going on. "What was-"

"Her name was Sheena." Colm sat down and looked out the window, clearing wanting to get out as soon as possible. I understand, I don't want to be here either.

* * *

**Wednesday - Evening**

I strolled into the room, and took my spot on the ground, but instead of falling asleep, I had the guys staring at me. "What?"

Joshua smirked. "You seemed awful happy yesterday when you got back. How come?"

I scoffed. "Do I need a specific reason? Can't I come in happy?"

I had a feeling it would be Innes who would contradict me, and I was right. "You looked pretty damn bored in school, so why were you happy then?"

I lay down, ignoring them. "You'd need to get your information elsewhere." And with that, I fell asleep.

* * *

**Thursday – Afternoon**

Thank the gods, final day of lectures. Anyway, once again, the teacher is a woman. "Hello, everyone, we loved having you here for this cultural exchange experience. Today, we will have a quick rundown of the Imperial Generals of Grado. First of is the 'Obsidian' Duessel Karne. This Great Knight is one of the most loyal generals, and one of the first three. He does everything he can to complete his mission swiftly and efficiently, but with doing as little damage as possible.

Next is Nathaniel Surge. This Wyvern Lord is from a farmland in Southern Grado. Nathaniel owned a wyvern named Ceberon since he was a child. One day, he traveled to the capital with Ceberon to join the army and send some of his earnings back home to support his family.

Third is Tatiana Servecs. She hailed from a poor town. So poor, some people couldn't support themselves. During winter, things would get much worse, but Emperor Vigarde would send provisions to them. Tatiana, along with her sister traveled to the capital, where she joined the army to show her thanks to him.

Fourth is Caellach Mercer, the Tiger Eye. Caellach is a mercenary form Jehenna, but rumors say that he only became one to escape his life, and that he joined the army only to gain power.

Fifth is Valter Lane, the Moonstone. He is one of the most powerful of the generals, but also the most ruthless. He is a sadistic man that would often kill innocents on missions, earning him the hatred of his allies. I'm surprised he is yet to be fired.

Finally, Riev the Blood Beryl, He was once a priest of Rausten, but was cast out for worshipping Fomortiis. During his time here, he has become one of Grado's finest warriors. Now for a question. You, there." I remember that at the beginning of class, Cormag sat in the area she was pointing. He stood. "Now, what did Nathaniel do before he left for the capital?"

Just as I suspected, this wasn't anything to him. He yawned before answering; typical Cormag. "Nathaniel looked after the animals on his farm with his older sun while his wife and younger son tended to the crops." I looked at the teacher, and I could tell that she couldn't believe how he knew so much. I looked at him, and there was just a big grin on his face. "How'd I know? Simple; he's my old man." With that, Cormag sat down.

* * *

**Thursday – Evening**

Colm stared at the ceiling, whistling. "Would would've thought that Glen and Cormag were the kids of an Imperial General? Or that our science teacher is the younger sister of one? Whatever."

I stare at the ceiling as well, thinking more about Marissa than anything else, which is odd. "Hey, guys. For the next three days, this room is basically going to be empty."

Joshua scoffed. "No, I am not bring Natasha here. What about you?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. We should get sleep. We have no idea when the girls will be knocking down our door to have us go to town with 'em. I'm kinda worried about what'll happen…" I fell asleep, and waited for morning to come.

**Well, the first time I've ever written in first person. What did you think? Anyway, for anyone that has either seen or played Persona 4, I'll let you know, I'll be putting in a certain scene from the school trip. You'll understand. And what did you think of the little facts I made up?**


	15. Chapter 15

**Second part of the arc.**

**Chapter 14: Grado Trip – Friday and Saturday**

Just as I suspected, I awoke to the sound of knocking. "C'mon guys, wake up!" I sat up and looked at the guys. They were all covering their ears with their pillows. I sighed and stood, not being pleased for waking up so early when I don't have school. I went over and opened the door, and there stood Marissa and Neimi. The latter bowed, while Marissa stood there. "Good morning."

I waved to her and said the same, then turned to the culprit behind our unpleasant awakening. "What the hell do you want? It's really early."

Marissa face palmed and glared at me. "We all want to see Grado, and we're not leaving you behind!"

"Let me handle this." Neimi pushed Marissa aside, which is good, because I have a feeling we're both pretty damn cranky. "What she was trying to say was that we were going into town later, and we wanted you to know so we don't go without you."

I nodded, feeling relieved that was all. "Alright, thanks."

I closed the door and tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. I just lay there staring at the ceiling. "Guess I'm awake now."

A few hours later, I checked my phone. The clock read 8:30 A.M, which would mean Marissa came banging on our door at like 6:00 in the morning… I wake the guys up and told them the news. Cormag was the only one that seemed to be awake at the time. So we decided to leave and get breakfast, where the girls were: Marissa, Vanessa, Neimi, Natasha, Tana, and Eirika. The only two that looked like they were awake were Vanessa and Tana. I walked over to Marissa, wanting to know how she was. "Still asleep?"

She nodded, and yawned. "Sorry about earlier, I guess it was too early to tell you."

I sat down next to her and smiled. "Okay, then what did you have planned?" She kinda just stared into space; I think she was falling back to sleep. I picked up a cup that was next to her and looked in it. Water.

I splashed it in her face, and she woke up in an instant. "Ah, thanks for that."

"So, how've you been? Sleeping on the floor?"

She shook her head. "I'm sharing the bed with Eirika."

That caused me to scoff. "Just as I suspected. The girls are fine with sharing it, but with us, Colm was forced to take it." She giggled, and I smiled in response.

* * *

**Friday: Afternoon**

To be exact, it's 12:01 right now. Minor changes to the attire of our group: I am wearing a black and red checkered shirt, and glasses. Reason why, I don't know. And Marissa, who was wearing a black short sleeved shirt with candy decorations on it, and a red skirt, which surprised me.

"Why are you wearing that?"

She blushed and looked at it. I'm guessing she ignored me. "This is so embarrassing… Is this a bit short?" She pulled the front down a bit. "I'm afraid someone will be able to see my panties…" I glanced over her shoulder and noticed Ross and Ewan. The latter looked at her for a second and turned away, while Ross stood there with a dumb look on his face.

She was right. "Marissa, let go of your skirt, Ross is getting an eyeful."

In an instant she released it, and tears began welling up in her eyes; oh no… She burst into tears, and to my surprise, ran into my arms. "B-blue, w-what should I do?" I had no idea.

I simply began stroking her hair in an effort to calm her down. "Go change into something more comfortable."

She was getting my shirt wet, but I didn't mind. "B-but you'd like it if I wore a skirt, right?"

I let go of her, and looked her in the eye. "I would, but I'd like it better if you were comfortable."

She nodded and went back inside to change, which made me feel better, but… "I feel horrible."

"How come?"

I turned to Eirika. "Simple, it's basically my fault she was crying."

I saw Colm point to Ross. "Although, he's more at fault than you."

I scoffed. "Whatever, let's just enjoy our day, okay, guys?"

A few hours later, the others left to get something. For what, I don't know, but they left me with Marissa, which made me feel really awkward. "So… about earlier…"

"It's not your fault, Blue."

I scoffed, because I think I knew what she was saying. "You blame Ross, right?"

"He's the one that was staring."

She blushed, which confused me. "Y-you aren't curios about what he saw, right?"

Gods… was I? "Nope, not at all." That was odd. Where'd that come from? Marissa seemed relieved, though.

* * *

**Friday: Evening**

Gods, what have I gotten myself into? Here we were, standing in a club.

"Blue, I need you to do something." I sighed. Apparently, Marissa thinks I'll do anything for her, and she's right. "Can you get us the V.I.P room?" Why the hell does she need that place?

"Why can't Eirika do it? Isn't she part of whatever your planning?"Before Marissa could protest, Eirika ran off. Thank you, sister.

…Or not. It's been about fifteen minutes, and we have our drinks, which are apparently non-alcoholic.

But wh- "C'mon, bro, what's wrong?" Colm is speaking and acting as if he were drunk, in addition to Eirika, Tana, and Innes. Four drunks(?), fantastic.

"King's game!" Eirika just shot up. What she's talking about, I don't know.

I wanna know what it is, but I'll regret it. "What's the King's Game?"

"It's like this…" Now Tana, who is holding onto Cormag's shoulder. He isn't intoxicated like them, but he seems off. I feel a bit weird myself… maybe it's the atmosphere…? "How many people are here, Corey?"

Cormag sighed. "There are eleven of us."

Tana lightly slapped him. "Thanks, honey. Anyways, eleven chopsticks, one has a red mark, but the others have numbers…" She began drifting off, Cormag woke her up.

Marissa sighed, so I guess she doesn't wanna wait. "As she left off, one has a red mark, the other have numbers. We each draw one, whoever has the one with the mark is the king… or queen. They give an order and a number. Whoever has the number they called _must_ do what they order. As they say 'The king's orders are absolute.'" Of course."

Since some of us are drunk, things are bound to get out of hand, I pray this doesn't last long. Before I knew it, the game began, I drew 1.

The excited squeal I heard what that of my sister, which means… "I'm the King!"

Natasha gulped. "Uh… what's your orders?"

She giggled. Fantastic. "I order a kiss from…" If she says- "Number one!" Crap.

I slowly stood and raised the stick. "I'm the first victim." Normally, if Eirika, for some odd reason, had to kiss me, she'd break down, but she seems rath-

"Wow, that was quick. She launched herself at him." Damn, did that just happen? Did my baby sister just kiss me? Kinda embarrassing. I sat down, and sadly, she happily strolled back to her seat.

Round two, I'm number 5. I pray I survive. Innes held his up. "I am King. Let's see… Number 7, tell me name of your one true love. I have assumptions, but no solid info."

Cormag sighed, so I guess he's seven. "Normally, I'd protest, but she's drunk, and won't remember this tomorrow, so I'll say. It's Tana, if it wasn't obvious."

Innes seemed pleased with the answer, and the game went on. As time passed, I was lucky enough to be spared, the others not too mortified, but alas, I became more and more intoxicated as time passed. It's the atmosphere.

Let's see… "I'm the king." I feel weird… my order is going to be crazy, I can tell… I readjusted my glasses, for they were falling. "The king commands a lap dance from…"

"Hold it!"

The protester, was Joshua, the most sober of all the guys. "Quiet, knave! Number one, to me!"

He sat down, which means he most wasn't the one, but Marissa was staring at her chopstick, her face really red. Damn.

"Marissa, come h-" Where am I? I looked around the room, but nothing came to mind. "Guys, what happened?" Marissa sighed, she seemed relieved. I wonder why.

Joshua rushed to me. "Dude, you don't know where we are? What just happened?"

I shook my head, and looked down. "I'm king? When did this happen?"

I shrugged. "Whatever, my orders: Number 1, give me a hug." Number 1, why did I choose that? Marissa stood up and walked to me, and she was blushing. I stood, and opened my arms. I have no idea why I chose 1, but I'm happy. She hesitated, and hugged me, just like I ordered. I have no idea what happened, but my head hurts, and I want to go to bed.

* * *

**Saturday: Morning**

I awoke with a bad headache. I looked around the room, and the guys appeared to be asleep. All of them, except Joshua appeared to be in pain, just like me… Oh, wait, I remember what happened last night. I can't believe I said that, or that it almost happened. "Damn…" I stood and trudged towards the door. "I need to apologize to Marissa…" I face palmed. I don't know when I started calling her that, but I need to go back to VV.

I trudged over to their room and knocked. The one to answer the door was the one I wanted to talk to. "Good morning, Marissa." She rubbed her eye, must've been tired, but I was in that situation yesterday. "Sorry about last night."

This time, she yawned. She was fine, so how come I'm wide awake, and she isn't? "What do you mean? Unless you remembered what happened."

"I did. The atmosphere in the place… I can't believe it got to me, too…"

She stepped out of the room and closed the door. "What do you mean? It wasn't the drinks?"

I chuckled, because I have a feeling the others thought that too. "Well, I know it wasn't because it happened to me too, and I hadn't touched my drink in a while." She sat against the wall, and I joined her. "Two more days, what do we do?"

She blushed slightly, and began playing with her fingers. "T-today, I planned on going out with the girls…"

"What is it?" She smiled slightly. "T-tomorrow, i-is it okay if I go t-to your room?"

What? I felt my face heat up, makes sense considering what she asked. Only one thing could come out of my mouth. "Motive?"

She giggled. "To hang out, is all…"

That could mean plenty of things.

"I-it's not what you think!" I looked at her, and for a second, I thought she read my mind.

"Was I thinking aloud?"

She nodded and crossed her arms. "If I should be asking anyone if they'd be doing something weird, it should be you! You wanted me to give you a lap dance!"

She has a point... kinda. "A-anyway… I-I'd be fine with that."

I stood. "If you're hanging out with the girls today, I should go so I don't interfere."

* * *

**Saturday: Afternoon ((Girls) Marissa POV)**

The girls and I sat in a local noodle shop. I'm not used to ramen, but I'm in love with the stuff now. "Hey, Natasha, Neimi, Vanessa, do you remember what happened last night? The incident with Blue?"

Vanessa nodded. "You would've thought a prince would request a lap dance from his best friend?"

I heard a gasp behind me, but that makes sense. "Ephraim did that?"

I turned to Eirika and sighed. "He was drunk off the atmosphere. Besides, you're the one that kissed your brother."

"What?!"

I heard Tana giggle. "I kinda remember that! Normally you'd object to that, but you rushed in." Eirika blushed and stared into her noodles. I turned back to mine and continued eating. I'm kinda surprised that Tana remembers that, but not Cormag's confession. Whatever.

"Oh, yeah, Marissa, didn't you talk to Ephraim this morning?" I looked over at Natasha and nodded. I then realized the part about how I asked to go to his room tomorrow. This isn't good…

"You asked him if you could go to his room tomorrow, right? How come?" I did my best to ignore her, but now I'm thinking about what might happen… oh my, my face must be really red… "Are you okay?" I forgot that Vanessa was right next to me! I stood and ran out of the restaurant. I had to be alone after that. I need time to think

* * *

**Saturday: Evening**

I've been sitting here by the fountain for hours… but... I kinda like Blue, and we'd be... alone tomorrow... in that room. The whole point of the room is for people to have sex, but... am I really aiming for that?

"What're you doing here?"

T-that voice…! I looked up, and Blue was there. "U-um…"

He sat next to me. "Are you alright? Do you need to talk?"

I stood and began running, but there was something I had to say. "I'm sorry, Blue, but…" I felt tears running down my cheeks. "I-I don't want to see you for the rest of the trip…" After that, I continued on my way, going as fast as I could to the hotel. I wouldn't want to see him until we got home, where my mind would be straight.

**There's the end of that. Next chapter will end the trip, and will be in third person once again. To be honest, I think these have leaned more towards third person, even though I meant to write in first. What do you think? Also, the obvoius fact that the friday evening thing was 'inspired' by Persona 4, what did you think of it? I will be uploading the third part with this.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Final part of the arc. In third person. This chapter will be split into segments for each pair. Sorry if some seems short when they should've been long, and vice versa.**

**Chapter 15: Grado Trip – Sunday**

**Colm and Neimi**

Colm watched as Neimi shot targets at a local archery range. "I knew she was good, but wow. She probably could've done those blindfolded."

"Maybe, but I might've missed one."

Colm chuckled and took her hand. "So, you've had your fun, so what do you wanna do?"

Neimi just smiled. "It's your turn to decide."

At that moment, his stomach growled. "Does lunch sound good to you?"

Neimi nodded. "Sure thing. I was getting pretty hungry myself." The two of them went to the same noodle shop Neimi and the girls went to the day before.

The two sat down at the booth, and Neimi pointed towards the menu. "Anything you want. I'll cover it."

Colm, however shook his head. "I don't want you to treat me, save your money. I can buy my own lunch."

Neimi pinched his nose. "Don't act so big, Colm. I owe a lot to you. You've been there for me almost my entire life, helping me, and I want to return the favor in any way I can."

He removed her hand. "If you want to return the favor, you can just stay the cute, innocent Neimi I know, okay?"

She crossed her arms. "Colm, I want to do more for you, though!"

He sighed. "Joshua told me about the incident with Ephraim on Friday, would you rather have that?"

Neimi blushed and shook her head. "No, never mind then. I'll stay your… cute, innocent, Neimi."

"Thanks. You should know, I'll always, be here for you, so you'll kinda be indebted to me forever. The only way you could repay me is if you don't let any other guy take you, okay?"

Neimi's blush deepened. "Really? W-what do you mean? I-it's not like you-"

He turned his attention to the menu. "I wonder, what should I eat?"

Neimi smiled at looked at the menu as well. _"Colm… maybe that means… he wants us to be together forever…"_

* * *

**Ewan, Ross, and Amelia**

"Hold up!"

Ross chased after Amelia as ran through a field. Ewan sat on the sidelines watching. "How come Ross makes such a big deal about me and her? It's not like I'm competition or anything." He lay on his back, staring at the clouds. "I don't even like her. She's cute, but still."

"Ewan, come on!"

He ignored his friend's voice and remained looking into the sky. "Why does she always bother me like this? I want to be alone."

"You think I bother you?"

He looked up and saw Amelia standing in front of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

She turned to Ross. "Can you get us some Frozen Yogurt?" He nodded, and ran off.

Amelia then sat next to Ewan. "You didn't insult me. Actually, I do bother you. Like, when you read, I grab you and drag you to where I need you. I never consider what you want to do. Sorry."

He sighed. "No, I can't blame you. I'm the one who's never doing anything."

Amelia crossed her arms. "You choose to do those things, and I drag you away from it." She buried her head in her hands. "I'm such a selfish jerk sometimes!"

Ewan put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't say that. You're not selfish. You think of others all the time! Considering how often I exercise, which isn't often, it's a good thing you drag me off. And besides, I end up enjoying myself."

She looked at him and smiled. "You're right. Thanks, Ewan. But, is there anything I can do for you? There must've been time where you actually wanted to stay out of it, right? I have to make those up to you."

He scoffed. "Don't change, then. Stay your bubbly, cheery, fun loving self. I'll be happy if you stay like this. Seeing you brightens up my day a lot."

Amelia blushed slightly and giggled. "Thanks, Ewan."

He retracted his arm and cleared his throat. "A-anyway, how'd you like the trip?"

Amelia looked at the sky. "I really liked it. I never really understood the sacred twins, or why wyverns are native to Grado. The clouds are really pretty, Ewan."

He nodded. "But they pale in comparison to you."

He lay down again, and Amelia blushed. "Ewan, do you mean that?"

"Of course I do, it's true. You're really cute." Amelia's blush deepened, and she turned back to the clouds.

* * *

**Vanessa and Innes**

Vanessa watched as wild wyverns flew through the sky. "Wow, I've always of Wyvern to be really horrible, but they're quiet majestic."

Innes joined her. "Of course they are. They're basically Pegasi, but they're lizards."

Vanessa giggled. "You're right. I guess that I never really thought about them that way." Innes picked a tulip from the ground and handed it to her. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

Innes chuckled. "Just like you." Vanessa blushed. "T-thank you…"

Innes looked back to the sky at the wyverns. "I wonder if they're just children."

Vanessa followed his gaze. "Do you think they're lost?"

"Maybe."

Vanessa sighed. "I wish we could help."

"Even if we could, I doubt they'd let us."

"Yeah, you're right…"

He patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Wyverns aren't dumb. They'll be fine."

Vanessa nodded. "I hope you're right. Maybe we should go. I'm getting a bit hungry."

Innes chuckled. "Alright, what do you feel like eating?"

* * *

**Joshua and Natasha**

"1… 2… 3… 4…" Joshua counted as a stone he tossed into a lake skipped. After the fourth, it sunk. "Damn, only four."

Natasha clapped, slightly surprising Joshua. "I thought it was quite impressive. I couldn't get to skip once if I tried."

Joshua picked up a stone and handed it to her. "C'mon, try."

She took it and looked at the river. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Joshua nodded. "It's bound to skip at least once."

Natasha took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tossed the stone. "A-anything?"

"1…2…3…4…5…6… two more than me, good."

Natasha sighed and smiled. "That was just luck. You're the one with skill."

He shrugged. "Maybe. I have some pretty good luck, so that might be it."

"You don't seem to consider being royalty very lucky though. I mean, you live alone in Renais, right?"

He scoffed. "I didn't like having everything done for me. I wanted to be independent."

"You ran away, right? You didn't have to do that."

Joshua crossed his arms. "Well, I wanted to. I wanted to get far away from home. And I have a feeling, people would still think they would do everything for me."

Natasha sighed. "Joshua, you should know, people will do whatever the royal family desires. You want to be left alone, and they'll do it. If one of your parents didn't want you bothered, it would be guaranteed."

"Tsk. Whatever, it's too late now."

Natasha crossed her arms. "No it isn't! You just up and left! Your parents must be worried sick about you!"

"My mother, maybe, but my father always wanted me to man up. He's probably happy."

Natasha clenched her fists. "Even so, don't you miss them?! How long has it been?"

Joshua scoffed. "I do, but I'll fix that, someday. I doubt it'll be anytime soon."

Natasha grabbed his arm. "I can't handle this! You're buying me lunch!"

"W-what?!"

* * *

**Cormag and Tana**

Two soda cans dropped out of a vending machine. Cormag picked them up and handed one to Tana. "Here you are."

Tana took it and smiled. "Thank you." He opened his and began drinking. "Why Renais?"

He stopped and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Tana shrugged. "Not sure really. Just that… your father is one of the Imperial Generals, but you and your brother don't live here."

He scratched the back of his head. "Not so sure really. Glen just decided to pack up and move. Mom stayed behind."

"You never asked him?"

Cormag shook his head. "Never really cared."

Tana sighed. "Really? Your brother tells you to pack up, and you didn't question him?" He shook his head. "At all?"

"Never mattered to me. I didn't really care."

Tana opened hers and began to drink. "Did anything good happen to you in Renais?"

He nodded. "I met you, for one." Tana blushed. "W-what?"

"The others too. I was probably happiest about you, though."

Tana looked down. "U-um…"

"No need to be embarrassed."

Tana nodded. "Y-yeah… you're right." She looked up. "It's sweet that you think that, though."

Cormag patted her head. "You are one of my best friends, possibly number 1."

Tana looked up at the sky. "The sun is starting to set it looks like."

Cormag finished his drink, and crushed the can against him forehead. "We should get going then."

* * *

**Eirika and Seth**

"What're you doing?" Seth watched as Eirika carefully walked atop a fence.

She looked down at him. "I've never been good at balancing, and I'm testing myself." Eirika continued walking, but stumbled and fell.

"Got ya!" Seth caught her as she fell. "Are you okay?"

Eirika blushed and nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Can you put me down, now?"

Seth blushed as well, and set her down. "Sorry about that."

Eirika shook her head. "It's alright. To be honest, I probably shouldn't have been doing that."

Seth sweat dropped. "You think?"

Eirika crossed her arms. "You don't have to say it like that!"

He sighed. "Yeah."

He held his hand towards Eirika.

She took it and stood up. "Thanks."

Seth cleared his throat. "So…"

Eirika tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"

He chuckled. "Uh… I wanted to know…. Would you like to get some dinner with me once we get home?"

Eirika blushed. "K-kinda like a date? O-okay…"

Seth smiled. "Thanks… anything in particular?"

She shook her head. "Anything you want is fine…"

Seth held his hand out once again. "We should get going. The sun is setting." Eirika nodded and took his hand.

* * *

**Marissa and Ephraim**

Ephraim sat on the bed, looking at the ground. "Did I do something to upset her?" He shook his head. "No, I couldn't have! I've been nothing but a friend the entire trip! Why doesn't she want to see me?" He held his head. "Dammit…" He stood. "Maybe I should… ask her…? But that would go against her wishes…" He sat down again. "No, I can't take the risk, that might her angrier." He fell over, and stared at the ceiling. "I wish I knew what I did…"

"You didn't do anything."

He sat up, and looked at the door. "Marissa?"

The door opened, and she walked in. "H-hey…"

He shot off the bed and hugged her. "Marissa, thank goodness you're here!"

She returned the hug. "I'm sorry, Blue. I had to think. It didn't take as long as I thought it would."

He released her. "What was it?" She blushed and looked down. "One of the girls overheard us talking yesterday… She wanted to know why I wanted to go… that made me question why I wanted to go…"

Ephraim blushed as well. "W-what is that supposed to mean? What were your intentions?"

Marissa went over to the bed. "I was afraid that I would get a little naughty being alone in here with you."

Ephraim nodded. "I see. You seemed a lot more distressed."

She turned to him. "Sorry for worrying you like that. It was a bit silly of me, huh?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. To be honest, I was a bit worried I might do the same thing…" He blushed and crossed his arms. "Wait, what does this mean?"

Marissa shrugged. "I dunno, what's wrong?"

He cleared his throat. "We both had a feeling that we'd let ourselves attempt to… in a way, seduce the other. Does that mean…"

Marissa blushed fiercely. "W-wait! I-I don't want to…!"

Ephraim nodded. "I'm afraid I might feel the same."

Marissa shook her head. "No, no! I don't want to sleep with you! And even if I do but don't know it, it's not like I like you or anything!"

He nodded. "The same for me."

Marissa crossed her arms. "I wanna leave, but at the same time, I don't want to!"

Ephraim smirked. "I think I know why." He went over to her and lifted her chin. "Please don't kick me or anything." He leaned and kissed her.

She pushed him away and glared at him, her face beet red. "W-why'd you do that?!"

He began pushing her towards the door. "I might answer later, but for now, go to your room. It's getting late."

"H-hey!" He pushed her out and locked the door. "I need to get that off my mind." He went to his spot on the floor and fell over. "I wonder if I'll wake up when the guys come knocking. Whatever."

**30 minutes later…**

"Dude, open the door!" Ephraim slept peacefully as the others banged on the door.

"C'mon, Ephraim, open up already!"

He tossed and turned. "Damn, how can I sleep with this noise?"

"Can I just knock the door down?"

"Cormag, control yourself!"

**Well, that's the end of this arc. How'd you enjoy it? I intend to do all field trips (in case there are more than just the Frelia, Jehenna, and Rauten trips left) in first person from the view of someone, it might be Ephraim again, it might be Marissa, it might be Joshua, it might be Ewan, or amelia, or Eirika. Who should be the one telling the stories for the trips? Leave a review telling me who's POV each trip should be in.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Back in Renais! ...But not for long.**

**Chapter 16: Another Trip!**

Ephraim, Marissa, Joshua, and Natasha stood in front of a school bulletin board that listed various events that would be occurring soon. On it, in quite a large display, a notice of _another_ second year trip.

"A… ski resort?" Joshua hung his head down.

Natasha looked at him. "Is something wrong?"

Ephraim chuckled. "Jehenna is basically a desert, and a ski resort would be _really_ cold compared to there."

Joshua walked off, Natasha following. "I'll just have to bundle up, then. I can't let this ruin the trip."

* * *

"This is going to be amazing!" Ross closed his locker and saw Ewan standing behind the door.

"Hey, Ross."

"Hey, what's up?"

Ewan scoffed. "I have a feeling that you've heard that you could choose who you room with, considering we're staying in a ski lodge and not a love hotel. I know that sooner or later, you'd ask me if you could ask Amelia. Once again, I tell you this; I don't care if you go out with her. She's my friend and that's it."

Ross scratched the back of his head. "Alright, thanks, man!"

Ewan waved and walked away. "Don't mention it! I just don't want you bugging me later."

Ross ran over to where Amelia's locker was, and found her putting things away. "Hey."

She closed it and smiled. "Hi, Ross."

He blushed and chuckled nervously. "Um… I was wondering… since on this trip we can choose who we want to room with… I was wondering if… you'd be fine rooming with me."

She frowned slightly. "I'd love too, but…" She shook her head. "Never mind. I wanted to room with Ewan so he could help me study, but that can wait. I'd love to room with you, Ross."

He smiled. "Thanks, Amelia. Anyway, I need to get going. See you later."

He ran off, and she waved. "See you later, Ross!"

* * *

Lyon and Adrianna walked along a road that lead to the latter's house. "So, Lyon, what do you think the others did during their free time?"

He sighed. "To be honest, I would rather not know."

She tilted her head. "How come?"

"I heard from Ephraim that he and some of the others want to forget Friday night. I don't want to know why."

She giggled. "Alright, then. Lyon, this trip coming up soon…"

He looked at her and smiled. "Yes, I'll room with you. I actually wanted to ask you."

She blushed. "R-really? Interesting, how we both wanted to room together." They stopped in front of a nice little house. "Thanks for walking me home."

He nodded. "You're welcome. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"One more thing." He turned around, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You've been a huge help to me since we've met. Thanks."

He blushed and nodded. "No problem. Bye!" He turned and ran.

Adrianna crossed her arms and smiled. "He's kinda delicate, but that's kinda adorable. Maybe that's why I like him so much. He seems like one that would focus more on work than love sometimes, though. Maybe the trip will help." Seth walked on his way home after work.

* * *

"Seth!" He looked over his shoulder to see Glen rushing towards him.

"Hey, what's up?"

Glen stopped next to his friend and smiled. "So, how was your date with Eirika?"

Seth blushed. "Quite nice. I didn't know she was a good cook."

Glen snickered. "So she cooked for you, huh? I wonder why?"

Seth elbowed Glen. "I asked if she could, and she said yes. I was just curios. Don't make any jokes, okay?"

Glen scoffed. "Okay, then, ruin my fun, bro. So, you askin' her to room with you?"

Seth nodded. "Why the hell not? But, you have to ask Selena to room with you."

Glen nodded. "Alright, then. So, what're your plans for the trip?"

Seth shrugged. "I wanna learn how to snowboard, but I already know how to ski."

Glen nodded. "Alright, then. I'm not used to stuff like this. I mean, I grew up down south. I wonder how Cormag is gonna handle it. He has Tana, but…"

Seth sped up a bit. "We'll just have to wait and see, my friend!"

* * *

Marissa sat on the bench near her house. She pulled out her phone and called someone. "Hello, Kari?"

_"Yeah, what is it, sis?"_

She blushed. "T-there's something I wanted to tell you…"

_"What's with you? The last time you were like this is when you… aw, you have a crush, don't you?" _

She smiled slightly and nodded. "Y-yeah…"

_"So, who is he?" _

Marissa's blush deepened. "I-it's Prince Ephraim…"

_"Wow, you have a crush on the prince? Who are you and what have you done with my baby sister?"_

Marissa frowned. "Kari, this isn't the time for joking around! I-I'm serious!"

_"You really like him don't you?" _

"Yeah… because of him, I enrolled."

_"W-what?! You enrolled?! You care about him that much?"_

"Of course I do. I wanted to know if you-"

_"I'm coming."_

"What?"

_"I'm going to Renais, renting an apartment, and we'll be staying together. Tethys told me that you're going on a trip soon. I'll volunteer to chaperone. She told me that you get to choose who you room with. So… you gonna ask 'im?"_

"Hey, VV!"

Marissa smiled wide. "It's him, gotta go, see ya soon, sis!"

_"Good luck to you, kid!"_

Marissa hung up and ran to Ephraim. "Hey, Blue? So you're back to using my nickname?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think. I wanted to ask you: do you wanna room with me for the trip?"

Marissa blushed. "Yeah, of course!" She looked at the ground nervously. "But… I don't know how to ski or anything… y'know, growing up in the desert and all…"

Ephraim patted her head. "Yeah, I'll teach you."

Marissa looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, Blue! Oh, um… my sister is moving here to look after me. Since we're best friends, I'm sure that she'll want to meet you."

Ephraim chuckled. "I just realized. There's family week later on in the year. For all out foreign student's families to see what going on…"

Marissa giggled. "I get it. My parents. They might get the wrong idea… about us… I wonder how my father will act. Will he interrogate you, or will he treat you with respect?"

Ephraim chuckled. "Tell him to act as if I was any other guy. VV, I'll see you later, okay?" He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "See ya."

She blushed and smiled. "Y-you too…" She kissed him on the cheek and she waved good bye and he went on his way.

Ephraim, once out of earshot sighed. "Dammit all… I'm totally head over heels. What the hell am I gonna do?"


	18. Chapter 18

**New Characters.**

**Chapter 17: Kari**

The guys sat in the castle's parlor, drinking some, non-alcoholic, Apple Cider. Joshua finished his glass. And looked at Ephraim. "So, what're you gonna do with Marissa?"

Ephraim sighed. "I dunno."

Colm filled his glass. "Why not just confess?"

Ephraim sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's my only option. It doesn't feel right keeping it cooped up. That, and I've seen how the guys are acting around her, I need to hurry up."

Colm gulped his drink. "Doesn't feel right keeping it in? I've been doing that for like, ten years. See me complaining?"

"Shuddap."

* * *

Marissa and Gerik waited outside the airport in Gerik's car. Soon, a young woman walked with a large purple luggage. She wore blue jeans, and white shirt, and a jean jacket. Her long purple hair went to her waist.

Marissa ran and hugged her. "Kari!"

She hugged Marissa as well. "Hey, kid, how've you been?"

Marissa smiled. "I've been fine, sis." Kari went to the car, and Gerik opened the trunk. She put her bag in, and got in the back seat. She pulled out a piece of people. "To this address, bud."

Gerik scoffed and drove off. Soon after, they were outside an apartment. Sitting on the curb were Ephraim, Seth, Cormag, and Glen. Standing behind them were Eirika, Tana, Selena, Adrianna, and Lyon.

Marissa got out of the car and ran to them. "Hey guys!"

Ephraim ran over and hugged her. "Hey."

She pushed him away. 'You do know my sister's here, right?"

He nodded. "Why else would we be here?"

Kari walked over while Gerik got her luggage from the car. "It's nice to meet you, prince."

He nodded. "You too. And please, call me Ephraim, or Blue, like your sister does."

She nodded. "Alright, Blue. You're treating my baby sister good, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I… wait, you're talking about Grado, right?"

Kari nodded. "Of course I was. So… how was it, bud?"

Ephraim blushed and glanced at Seth. "Seth, Glen, Selena, get over here! It's about time you met some of our teachers." He ran to get them and Kari looked at her sister.

"So…"

Marissa crossed her arms. "Nothing happened. Just a quick conversation and a kiss. There is no way in hell that you'll be a virgin longer than me."

"Ladies, if you're gonna have a talk like this, you should probably do it inside."

Marissa looked at Gerik and nodded. "Let's get going."

Several hours later, everyone had left, and the two sisters were alone. "Your best option would be to just tell him how you feel. Before any other guys confess to you. You'd get to avoid the pain of breaking a heart. I mean, you two will be spending a lot of time together, right?"

Marissa nodded. "Yeah, but I'm still nervous. What if…"

Kari chuckled. "There is no if. Ephraim cares about you, _a lot. _It'll go well. Just believe in yourself, okay?"

She sat on the couch, but what if I mess up and say something weird? That'll just make the situation awkward."

Kari sighed. "To be honest, you're adorable when you mess something up like that."

Marissa nodded. "O-okay. I hope your right. In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea asking you for advice, since you don't confess, you reject. I should've asked mom."

Kari shrugged. "Whatever. How about we do some shopping?"

The two sisters went to the local shopping district, and begun looking around for things such as pots, pans, etc. for the apartment. Well, Marissa, anyway, Kari was busy looking at clothes.

Marissa stood outside a fitting room, waiting for her sister. "How much longer do I have to wait?"

"Hold on, I got a lot, it's natural it'll take a while."

"Hey, Marissa." She looked over her shoulder and saw a young man approaching her. "What're you doing here?"

"Hey, Kai. Just waiting for my big sister."

He chuckled. "So, your older sister dragged you along, too?"

Marissa noticed that he was holding several bags. "You're her pack mule?"

He sighed. "Sadly. Anyway, do you have any plans for the trip?"

"What?"

He put some of the bags down and rubbed the back of his neck, his face pink. "I was just wondering if you were, y'know, free, we could hang out or something."

Marissa gulped. "Uh, well… I just really wanna focus on learning how to snowboard, so-"

He beamed. "Really, you need a teacher? How about me? I'm an amazing snowboarder!"

She sweat dropped. "Kai, I appreciate the offer, b-"

He picked up the bags. "Alright then, I'll teach you how to snowboard then. See you later Marissa. I can't keep my sister waiting too long."

With that, he ran off, and Kari exited the fitting room to see her sister sulking. "What's up with you?"

Marissa looked at her sister. "I messed up again…"

In the car, Marissa told Kari what had happened. "So… you were trying to say no, but he kept cutting you off?"

She nodded. "Do you think he-"

"Of course he meant to do that. You said he blushed, which means he's an admirer. He probably had a feeling that Ephraim already offered, so he planned to screw him over. At least you already have someone to room with; that would've made things worse for you."

Marissa sighed. "Yeah… wait, what do you mean 'he had a feeling Ephraim already offered'?"

Kari chuckled. "From what the others told me, most of the school thinks you two have feelings for each other. I think you two might have some supporters even."

Marissa sweat dropped. "Supporters…?"

"People that want you together. Although, there are some people against it though. Some of Ephraim's fan girls know well they don't have a chance, so they're rooting you on."

Marissa hung her head down. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

* * *

Ephraim was walking home from the park later that evening when he ran into L'Arachel. "Hey, Ephraim!"

"Hey, L'Arachel, what's up?"

She got I front of him and turned around, walking backwards. "I was wondering if you could teach me how to snowboard. Eirika already mentioned that you offered Marissa. If you two wanna be alone, I understand."

He shook his head. "It'll be fine. But… don't you know how to ski?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I would like to learn how to snowboard, too." She ran off, waving. "I gotta go, see you later!"

He waved as well. "You too!"

**Next chapter will begin the ski trip. **


	19. Chapter 19

**For this trip, I'll be experimenting with an Ewan POV**

**Chapter 18: Ski Trip- 1****st**** Day**

The first thing I did once we got to the ski lodge was head to my room. Amelia, Ross and I agreed that we'd go on the slopes later, so I had some time. Although, not to myself.

At that moment, my roommate for the weekend, L'Arachel entered the room. "Hi, Ewan." I looked at her and waved. "You seem really comfortable in that." I nodded once more and I felt my bed move, which means she sat on it. "I think it looks really nice on you."

I pulled my scarf down and smiled. "Thanks. Aren't you going snowboarding with Ephraim?" I felt my bed lift, so she got off.

"You're right, I just wanted to stop by the room. I hope you get on the slopes soon. Marissa says you're good."

I heard the door open and close and stood up myself. "Well, then, might as well get started a little early. I doubt they'll mind."

* * *

I've been at it for two hours now. "Ephraim, what's up?"

He looked at me, and sighed. "Kai."

I approached him and leaned so we were eye level. "You and Marissa are rooming together, you have time."

"I know, but still."

"Ewan!" Amelia's calling.

I left him and hurried to my friend. "Where's Ross?" She pointed to the top of the hill. And he came tumbling down the slope. "Well, sucks to be him. I'd help him, but I don't know how to ski."

I heard Amelia giggle and felt her grab my arm. "I wanna show you something."

She took out a small heart shaped locket, one really familiar. "Isn't that the locket I got you for your birthday last year? The one you lost after a week?"

She nodded and held it close to her heart. "Yeah, I know. I found it yesterday. I wanted the first time I've seen the picture in such a long time to be with you."

"Wait, what? Amelia-" Too late. She opened it, revealing a picture of the two of us.

I felt my face heat up, and I saw her face turn red as well. "Ewan, um…"

I closed it and looked away from her. "I wanted a picture of all three of us, but the only pictures we have that Ross looks good in are with him. I had to use one like this."

She pulled down my scarf and kissed me. Not on the cheek either. I was on the verge of fainting. She pulled away and smiled at me, and I simply pulled my scarf back up.

"Damn you, Ewan."

I looked over my shoulder and looked at Ross. "W-what?"

He crossed his arms. "I was hoping one of us would be Amelia's first kiss, but I wasn't hoping you!"

I stood and scoffed. "Get over it, Ross. That means nothing. It was a thank you." I began walking away, but Amelia called out to me.

"Thanks, Ewan."

I nodded and left, but Ross caught up to me. "Ewan, do you think I still have a chance then?"

"She's all yours."

Ross grabbed my scarf and pulled it off. "Then explain your red face."

I grabbed it back and put it back on. "I-it's nothing!"

Ross laughed and slapped my back. "Well, I hope you find someone bro."

I pulled his hand off and continued on my way. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"

* * *

It's now late evening, and Ross went in for dinner. Amelia and I sat on the porch of the lodge, and she is now sleeping on my shoulder. Honestly, I think she's adorable when she sleeps. I wouldn't know, because, well, I would never watch Amelia while she sleeps. I put my arm around her, and pulled her a little closer to me, trying to keep her warm. "Are you comfortable?"

A small smile appeared on her face and she nodded. "Were you even asleep?" I heard her giggle, which means she probably wasn't.

"No. I was just going to lay against you like this. It's nice."

I chuckled and felt my face heat up. "Why not do this with Ross?"

"He's busy right now." I stood and I Amelia fell over. "Meanie."

I waved and went inside. "Sorry." I went inside and went to Ross, who was sitting on one of the couches in front of the fire. "Hey, what're you up to?"

Ross glanced at me. "What happened to Amelia? Wasn't she sleeping on you?"

I sat myself next to him. "She was… kinda, I think. She was awake, just lying on me. She might've been asleep."

"You left her lying there outside?"

"Yeah, you mad?"

"Nah, she'll be fine, right?"

"Ewan, how're you?" L'Arachel just sat next to me, wonder what she wants. "Um… why is Amelia lying outside?"

I heard Ross laugh. "You left her there?"

"Was that wrong?"

I chuckled. "Of course it was. Wait, she's still lying there?"

She blushed. "T-that was really dumb of me, huh?"

Ross stood and left us. "See ya."

I stared into the fire and sat there, until L'Arachel brought me back to our room.

"It's kinda late, we should get ready for bed."

I tossed off my coat, scarf, and goggled, and hopped into bed. "Well, g'night."

"That's good, you're going to sleep already. I can change in peace."

After a few moments, I turned around, and saw that L'Arachel was in nothing but her bra and panties. I felt my face heat up again. "U-uh…"

She turned around and grabbed the cover from her bed and covered herself. Her face heated up as well. "E-Ewan, please turn around…"

I turned and covered my head with my pillow. "I'm really sorry!"

"I-It's okay. Just… try to go to sleep, please…" I tried, but it didn't work. I wasn't tired at all. I was contemplating turning once again, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I removed the pillow and saw L'Arachel in a nightgown. "Yes?"

She knelt over and kissed my forehead. "Thanks for being polite. I doubt other guys your age would do that."

I chuckled and turned over. "Thank you. Anyway, goodnight."

**What did you think of the Ewan POV?**


	20. Chapter 20

**This trip is taking a major turn.**

**Chapter 19: Ski Trip- 2****nd**** day**

I woke up to a knock at the door. I opened and found Amelia. "Good morning…?"

I looked down, then back at her. "I slept in my snowboarding outfit."

She tilted her head. "How come?"

I shrugged. "It's comfortable."

She took my hand and led me away. "I haven't eaten yet."

She nodded. "I know, I got you some juice and a Danish."

She led me outside, and pointed to a plate with two Danishes and apple juice. I sat down and began eating. She sat next to me and watched me.

"What're you doing?" I asked between bites.

She scratched her cheek. "I wanted to know if it was good."

I handed her the other one. "You didn't eat, huh?"

She blushed and took it from me. "Th-thank you…"

I handed her the juice. I wasn't thirsty.

"Are you sure, Ewan? This was supposed to be breakfast for you, not me."

I nodded, and put it next to her. "But I'm not that hungry."

I saw Ross place his goggles on his head and approach us. "Hey guys. How do you feel about how Kari's plan failed?"

I chuckled. "Ephraim said he didn't need it. They share a room, so he's going to stop wasting his time."

Amelia stood up. "Ross, do you wanna-"

He sat next to me. "I wanna talk to my bro."

Amelia nodded and rushed off. I watched and took my eyes off her once I felt something leave my hand. My first reaction: thrust my fist to the right. I lowered my hand and picked my Danish up. "Don't try to steal my breakfast next time. Amelia got this for me."

I glanced at Ross and saw him rubbing his cheek. "Damn, you punch hard." A devious smile sprawled across his face. "Why does it matter that she got it for you? You were lying about now not liking her right? If that's the case, you and me, race."

I punched him again and stood. "I don't like her. Even if I did, I would refuse to race you."

I glared at him, and tossed the Danish at him. "Because Amelia _is not a prize for us to compete over._"

I took my board and left him to finish my food. Ross's intelligence is pretty questionable, but now that I think about it, all of this could be avoided. If he thinks I like Amelia, the solution is: ask her out before I do. Why won't he just think of that? Anyway, I say that I don't like Amelia, but to be honest, I'm beginning to question myself. I mean, why would I care if she got me breakfast? This is fogging my head. I haven't been boarding good because of it.

For the umpteenth time, I've fallen flat on my face.

"Are you okay?" I looked up and found L'Arachel hovering over me.

She held out a hand and I took it. "I'm fine."

She tilted her head. "Really? You've been falling a lot. Is something on your mind that you wanna talk about?"

I sighed and scratched the back of my head. I trust her, but… "Yeah…" I was too busy thinking about what I should say to get out of this, and the next thing I knew, we were under a tree.

"What's wrong?"

I don't think there's any way for me to get out of this. "I'm pretty sure I have feelings for Amelia…"

"Can you speak up, your scarf is in the way." I felt my face heat up, and lowered my scarf. I then repeated that sentence. "What's the problem, then?"

I glanced at her. "Ross."

She nodded. "Well, I'm sorry, but I can't really help you. Why not ask Kari?"

* * *

"A love triangle, eh?" I nodded, and a devious smile sprawled across her face. "Interesting. You don't mind if I let the others know?"

I shrugged. "Go ahead. Might as well give them, and what will most likely erupt into the rest of the school, something to talk about."

Kari began snickering and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "A love triangle, with the three youngest people at the school. I have a feeling people might start betting on you two. Anyway, I'd say you have three choices. A) Ask her out and risk ruining your friendship with Ross. B) Wait for the day he asks her out and be continuously tempted to ask her yourself. And C) Tell him how you fell, so you two can talk and decide how to settle it."

Really? Why give me choices when 'C' is the obvious answer? "Alright, I'll talk to him."

I turned to walk away, and Kari stopped me. "No offense, but your friend is a bit of an idiot. Why doesn't he just ask her out instead of try to start a competition with you?"

I scoffed and continued on my way. "How would I know?" I went out and began a search.

* * *

It wasn't until about fifteen minutes before curfew that I found him. "Hey."

He took of his skis and came over to me. "What's up?"

I looked at the ground, not knowing what to say. I'm not that comfortable around L'Arachel, and I told her, so why can't I do this?

"Are you okay, Ewan?"

I looked at him. "It's… we really need to talk about something."

We walked back to the lodge and sat on the porch in silence for a few minutes. He was the one to break the silence. "Sorry, Ewan, but could we hurry this up? We're running out of time."

I nodded and sighed. "I think… that I might have feelings for Amelia."

I half expected him to yell at me or something, but I heard him laugh. "So now you admit it! You finally going to accept my offer?"

You've gotta be- I looked at him, very displeased with him. "Ross, I'm telling you this so we can decide on what to do about this. I was thinking… that you should have her. You'd be happy, and you've liked her longer, so…"

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "And let you be sad? Yeah, right. How about this? A waiting game. Whichever one of us decides to ask her out first gets her. We both want to avoid hurting each other, so maybe this will help. Whoever asks her out first is probably the one who deserves her."

He stood and went inside. A shortly after, I went inside. I don't know how this is going to go.

**If this is updated few and far between, it's because I'm busy on a site call . If you want to read my work while you wait, go to that site and search for an author with the pen name Shadowchaos1010.**


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